The All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced the final 21-member squad for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup to be held in India next month on Thursday evening.
However, three players have continued to stay with the team as coach Luis Norton de Matos wants to use them in his practice sessions.
Wing-back Joysana Singh, Centre-back Sumit Rathi and goalkeeper Mohammed Nawaz are the said trio training with the India Under-17 team.
It is also believed that the three players have been kept in the team as standby should any of the 21 players pick an injury or so before the commencement of the Under-17 World Cup on October 6.
“A player listed on the final list may be replaced by a player from the provisional list only in the event of serious injury up until 24 hours before the kick-off of his team’s first match. Such replacements must be approved in writing by the FIFA Medical Committee upon receipt and acceptance of a written detailed medical assessment in one of the four official languages of FIFA.
“The FIFA Medical Committee will issue a certificate stating that the injury is sufficiently serious to prevent the player from taking part in the final competition and submit such certificate to the FIFA Organising Committee. Upon approval, the association shall immediately nominate a replacement and inform the FIFA general secretariat accordingly. The replacement player must be assigned the shirt number of the injured player being replaced,” the FIFA rules stipulate.
Meanwhile, striker Rohit Danu is undergoing rehabilitation with the team doctor and physiotherapist as he has an ankle injury.