Team Melli’s central defender has pulled out of Team Melli for the final match of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifiers against Lebanon.

Khalilzadeh who was injured in the last match in Seoul against South Korea was unable to recover in time for the match on Tuesday in Mashad Imam Reza Stadium. The Al Rayyan defender will probably be out of football for a few weeks pending the full check-up to assess his injury.

To replace Khalilzadeh, Dragan Skocic has recalled Morteza Pouraligangi, himself a victim of a long-term injury. Pouraligangi is still playing in China league and his conditions and form have not been evident back home.

The match will also see the return of Sadegh Moharrami and Saeid Ezatollahi both suspended against Korea in addition to the return of Alireza Jahanbakhsh after he recovered from COVID19.

The absence of Mehdi Taremi is however is of concern as the Porto forward was diagnosed with COVEI19 more than two weeks ago which is well over the normal recovery period. Most probably, the Porto management has asked Taremi to remain in Portugal to prepare for the next round of matches rather than expose him to long travel for a match that means little to Iran.