Mohun Bagan Super Giant are "furious" with the way Ashique Kuruniyan's injury was handled by the Indian physio during their King's Cup match against Iraq and have decided not to release their players for the upcoming Asian Games.

The reigning Indian Super League champions, who are slated to begin their AFC Cup group stage campaign on September 19, have two players — Liston Colaco and Ashish Rai — in the 22-member squad for the Hangzhou tournament whose football matches will begin on September 19.

The 26-year-old India midfielder sustained an injury around the hour mark and had to be replaced by Rahim Ali in their King's Cup semi-final against Iraq on September 7.

An MRI on Kuruniyan revealed an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear and Mohun Bagan will form a medical board to address the issue, a Bagan official said on Tuesday.

"For five days, they neglected his injury and didn't even conduct an MRI. This is not something we'd expect from a Team India physio," he asserted.

"If they had performed an MRI, we could have started physiotherapy earlier and minimised the extent of the injury."

"In light of this episode, there is absolutely no consideration of releasing our players for the Asian Games," he said.

If it's a long-term injury then Mohun Bagan may also seek compensation, the team official further said.

PTI