Maybank ace Haziq in form but afraid of injury

Maybank forward Mohd Haziq Samsul is back and firing again, scoring in the Tigers’ 5-4 win over Nur Insafi at Sungai Petani Hockey Stadium on Sunday and taking his goal tally to 10.

However, the team’s top scorer still fears suffering from injuries, which can jeopardise his hockey career.

Last year, he injured his knee and underwent surgery in May and he was out of action for eight months.

Upon his return to the on-going Malaysia Hockey League (MHL), the Perak-born player suffered a left hamstring injury against TNB Thunderbolt on Jan 22 and was out for three matches against Terengganu, Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) and Hockey Academy.

The 26-year-old came back against Nur Insafi in the 5-4 win but said he was prone to injuries.

Haziq, who last played for Malaysia in the Asia Cup in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in 2017, said: “I am worried that my injuries could jeopardise my chances of being recalled for national training. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will not suffer any injuries in the MHL.

“I want to play for Malaysia after being dropped two years ago due to my knee injury.

“I am still young and can contribute to the national team,” said Haziq, who has represented Malaysia 68 times.

“Although I did not play three matches in the MHL due to the hamstring injury, I made a good return and we are now fourth in the league and look to have secured a place in the semi-finals with 18 points from 11 matches.

“We have three more matches to play and I have set a personal target of 15 goals so I need five more in three matches” said Haziq.

Maybank face TNB Thunderbolt today before facing league leaders Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) on Friday.

They wrap up the fixtures against defending overall champions Terengganu on Sunday.