Do Duy Manh had a motorbike accident and missed the Vietnam team

While riding his motorbike, Duy Manh was hit by a motorbike going in the opposite direction and had to go to the hospital to get stitches on the instep of his foot. Hanoi FC announced that the 1996-born centre-back would need at least two weeks to heal.

Not only the national team, Manh also missed the match between Hanoi and Wuhan Three Towns in the third round of the AFC Champions League group stage on November 8. Previously, Duy Manh was absent in the third round when Hanoi lost 0-2 to Cong An Ha Noi on November 3 due to health problems.

Duy Manh's unexpected injury prompted coach Philippe Troussier to call Bui Tien Dung from Viettel to replace him. Duy Manh's absence is a loss for the three-center-back formation applied by coach Troussier. The player born in 1996 is the only center-back to start all six friendly matches of the national team under coach Troussier. Meanwhile, Bui Tien Dung has not played any match under coach Troussier and was not on the initial list of players to be called up.

Before Duy Manh, the team did not have the services of Nguyen Quang Hai and Doan Van Hau due to injuries. Center back Que Ngoc Hai is also not in the best physical condition. The list of healthy center backs currently includes Bui Hoang Viet Anh, Giap Tuan Duong of Hanoi Police, Nguyen Thanh Binh, Phan Tuan Tai of Viettel and Luong Duy Cuong of Da Nang.

Do Duy Manh is a talent from the Hanoi youth academy, who emerged in 2015 when he was promoted to the first team of Hanoi T&T (now Hanoi FC) as a central midfielder. Later, he switched to central defender when coach Park Hang-seo appeared, joining Bui Tien Dung and Tran Dinh Trong to form a trio in the U23 team. In the national team, Manh and Que Ngoc Hai have been the two top choices in the past 5 years.

The Vietnam team will gather today, November 6, and have a closed training session that evening. The first day's squad consists of 25 players, including five Hanoi FC players and two Hai Phong players who are still preparing for the AFC Champions League on November 8 and the AFC Cup on November 9.

Vietnam will have a week of training before narrowing down the list to 28 players. On the morning of November 13, the team will travel to Manila, the capital of the Philippines. There, the team is expected to have three more training sessions before the coach finalizes the list of 23 players for the opening match of the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup against the host Philippines on November 16.

On November 21, Vietnam will return to My Dinh Stadium to welcome Iraq.