Defending Digicel Premier League champions Suva will miss six of their senior players against Ba when the competition resumes this Sunday.

This was confirmed to SUNsports yesterday by Suva FC head coach Maxwell Thaggard (also known as Babs Khan).

He said they would miss the services of Joeli Ranitu, Laisenia Raura, Mohammed Shahil, Mohammed Ramzan, goalkeeper Atunaisa Naucukidi and co-captain Ravinesh Karan Singh.

Thaggard said there is nothing much to expect from the Suva side.

“Five players were injured while Ravinesh Karan copped a red card in our last match, he automatically misses a game.”

He indicated that they are not expecting much from their players since they are playing again after six months of inactivity.

“It’s tough. The team just got together last week to start training and it was hard for some players to gain their fitness,” Thaggard added.

He said with the senior players ruled out, young players now have a chance to stamp their mark in the competition.

“This is the perfect opportunity for our young players. Come Sunday, we will have to test our match fitness and see where we stand.

“After the match we will gauge ourselves moving forward.

“Fans should not expect much from the Suva football team because we’re more into a rebuilding phase.

“Against Ba, we will work on our combinations and at the same time check out on our new players and see how they fit into the Suva FC system.”

The match kicks-off at 3pm at the ANZ Stadium, Suva. Entry (for all venues): $5 flat and Children Under-10: Free.

Meanwhile, Labasa coach Ravneel Pratap has confirmed that midfielder Marlon Tahioa, Jone Naraba, Anare Apenisa and Akuila Mateisuva are continuing with their training in Suva but would join them on game day.

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