Striker Cong Vinh and midfielder Tan Tai, the two backbones of Vietnam, will not be playing during the second leg friendly with Malaysia on Saturday at Hanoi’s My Dinh Stadium due to injuries, the squad’s coach said on Wednesday. Cong Vinh suffered a toe injury and had to leave the pitch in the first half of the friendly with Indonesia at My Dinh on October 16, while Tan Tai had to return to the substitute bench after his ligament was hurt in the 10th minute of the VFF Cup match against Turkmenistan on October 25. The hosts may also lose Minh Duc and Nguyen Sa in the Malay game, said squad doctor Nguyen Trong Hien. “To ensure safety, I will surely return to the pitch after the Malaysia match,” Cong Vinh told reporters. The Vietnam – Malaysia friendly will be broadcast live on VTV2 at 7pm, November 3. The guest team arrived in Hanoi on Thursday to prepare for the match. In the first leg game in Malaysia, the hosts were beaten 0 – 2, a loss Malaysia’s coach Datuk K.Raja­gopal said “has waken our players up and helped them realize that it’s not easy to defend their championship at the 2012 AFF Cup,” he told reporters. Malaysia has made careful preparation for the coming AFF Cup, which they are co-hosting with Thailand. The team will leave for two other friendly matches in Thailand and Hong Kong after Vietnam, he said. “These three last practices will provide me with an adequate overview of the players before short-listing the final 22-player squad for the Cup,” he said.