Doha: Talismanic Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia on Tuesday ruled out retirement from the international arena despite featuring for just 15 minutes in the Asian Cup, saying he will assess his future in two months and continue playing if he recovers fully from his calf muscle injury.
Bhaichung missed India's first two matches in the Asian Cup and played for 15 minutes in the last match against South Korea, his first international match after suffering a calf muscle injury in mid September last year.
"I don't want to retire injured. I will take a break for two-three months and see that if I can recover fully from my injury and after that I will decide. I think I will recover in two or three months and then I will continue playing," he said after India lost 1-4 against South Korea here.
"I consulted the Australian team doctor and other local doctors here. Every two days blood clots are drained from my calf and I took painkillers. I did not feel any discomfort in the 15 minutes I played today. I am happy that I played in the Asian Cup.
"It is the biggest stage of football in Asia. For every Asian player, the World Cup and Asian Cup are the biggest tournaments. I am happy to have played in the Asian Cup," he said.
"I will play in the next Asian Cup (in 2015 in Australia)," he added in a lighter vein.
Bhutia said the team had learnt a lot from the competition considering that they are playing for the first time in 27 years.
"We are playing for the first time in the Asian Cup after a gap of 27 years and we were clubbed against sides like Australia and South Korea. But overall, the team did very well and we have learnt a lot from the competition. We played very well in the second half in all the three matches, though we had given too much respect to the opposition in the first half in all the matches," he said.
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