In what could be best described as misfortunate and bizarre at the same time, East Bengal will have to look at a replacement for head coach Mridul Banerjee, just 24 hours after roping him in.
Banerjee, who was appointed on Tuesday following Trevor Morgan's resignation after four consecutive I-League defeats took to the training ground for his maiden session with the team on Wednesday morning.
The Santosh Trophy winning coach, however, injured himself while kicking a ball and was rushed off for an immediate MRI scan on his left ankle. Reports suggested that the 56-year-old could be confined to bed rest for nearly a month.
Dr Shanti Ranjan Dasgupta, renowned orthopaedic surgeon who also serves as the Honorary Assistant General Secretary of East Bengal ruled him out from continuing as the club's gaffer.
"He has suffered a tear in his Achilles tendon fibre tissue. It means he has to rest for at least four weeks. That is the bare minimum. As such, he won't be able to continue in his position of the team's head coach anymore," he said.
Banerjee, a former Mohun Bagan assistant coach himself blamed luck to cause the freak injury. "It is very unfortunate. Perhaps, this was my fate. I came into training today morning believing and hoping for good things with the bunch of boys we have got down here. But, right now it is disappointing. Credit to the club management for providing me immediate treatment after I got injured," the former Mohammedan SC coach said after his diagnosis.
East Bengal's Advisory Committee which consists of Manoranjan Bhattacharya, Bhaskar Ganguly and Tushar Rakshit echoed the same sentiments as stated by Dr Dasgupta and have now vowed to find a new coach to take over operations.
The Red and Golds still have two games remaining in the I-League despite vanquished title hopes. They host Minerva Punjab FC on Sunday before they travel away to Mumbai FC for the closing round.
Banerjee, who was appointed on Tuesday following Trevor Morgan's resignation after four consecutive I-League defeats took to the training ground for his maiden session with the team on Wednesday morning.
The Santosh Trophy winning coach, however, injured himself while kicking a ball and was rushed off for an immediate MRI scan on his left ankle. Reports suggested that the 56-year-old could be confined to bed rest for nearly a month.
Dr Shanti Ranjan Dasgupta, renowned orthopaedic surgeon who also serves as the Honorary Assistant General Secretary of East Bengal ruled him out from continuing as the club's gaffer.
"He has suffered a tear in his Achilles tendon fibre tissue. It means he has to rest for at least four weeks. That is the bare minimum. As such, he won't be able to continue in his position of the team's head coach anymore," he said.
Banerjee, a former Mohun Bagan assistant coach himself blamed luck to cause the freak injury. "It is very unfortunate. Perhaps, this was my fate. I came into training today morning believing and hoping for good things with the bunch of boys we have got down here. But, right now it is disappointing. Credit to the club management for providing me immediate treatment after I got injured," the former Mohammedan SC coach said after his diagnosis.
East Bengal's Advisory Committee which consists of Manoranjan Bhattacharya, Bhaskar Ganguly and Tushar Rakshit echoed the same sentiments as stated by Dr Dasgupta and have now vowed to find a new coach to take over operations.
The Red and Golds still have two games remaining in the I-League despite vanquished title hopes. They host Minerva Punjab FC on Sunday before they travel away to Mumbai FC for the closing round.