The voices have gained stridency as details of the injury he is said to be nursing have surfaced.

Denilson arrived in the country last Monday to play for V-League club Hai Phong, arousing great expectations, only to infuriate thousands of fans by not playing in a crucial encounter against current V-League leaders HSB Da Nang on Saturday that his team lost by a brace.

The situation worsened as local media reported that the footballer had sustained serious injuries and would not be ready to play for another month at least.

Test results carried out at the Viet Tiep Hospital earlier Saturday showed that Denilson had tears in his foot’s tendons, right knee’s anterior cruciate ligament and lateral meniscus. He would need to undergo surgery, some Hai Phong players, who names have been withheld, informed the media.

An unnamed source also said Denilson would not stay in Vietnam but return to Brazil for treatment.

An official from Hai Phong City’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, who asked not to be named, said the club had sent the star for tests because they were suspicious about his fitness.

The club managers and Denilson himself rejected the reports in a press briefing Monday in Hai Phong City but didn’t give clear details of his fitness and ability to play.

Denilson said through an interpreter he would not have to undergo any operation and would be ready to play for Hai Phong.

He didn’t specify the exact date for his debut match although the team’s coach Vuong Tien Dung had said earlier in the briefing that Denilson might begin training from June 15 and play the home match against Hoang Anh Gia Lai at the Lach Tray Stadium on June 21.

Denilson denied learning about his injuries from the Viet Tiep Hospital and told a reporter of the Lao Dong (Labor) newspaper that he didn’t care about them.

The Brazilian also rejected reports that he would go back to Brazil and said his fitness was his own business and only his doctor knew about the situation.

Hai Phong’s officials, however, refused to let reporters meet the doctor, saying he “is not included in the briefing.”

Answering a question from Phap luat Xa hoi (Law and Society) newspaper, Denilson said his three-month contract with Hai Phong ruled that he could only receive the salary until he played the first game and his earnings were based on the number of matches he could play.

After the news of the injury broke out, Hai Phong fans went to the club camping site to meet with Denilson personally and ask for an explanation, but he had relocated to an undisclosed location.

A member of the Hai Phong fan club said protests are planned to have ticket prices reduced if Denilson is not going to appear in forthcoming matches.

The administrator of the haiphong-fc.com website, Vu Tuan Dung, said if the Brazilian continued to be absent from the matches, it would be difficult to control the fans.

The club’s Managing Director Do Dai Duong had no answer when asked if they knew about Denilson’s injuries before they hired him, but coach Dung said the player had only been tested for cardiovascular problems before the signing.

“We certainly inspect a player’s heart and other issues before signing him but injury is another matter,” Dung said.

“I have asked Denilson’s doctor many times about his fitness. The doctor told me he would definitely recover.”

Both Duong and Dung dodged the question about the existence of contract terms that would have Denilson pay compensation in case he couldn’t play any game.

Denilson’s doctor had said earlier he can’t play until after Wednesday, which means he would miss the away match against The Cong at Hang Day Stadium.

Denilson’s representative Mauro had said it was true that the Brazilian is nursing an injury, but added it is not serious, and that he just needs some more time to recover fully.

He might play in the match against The Cong on Wednesday but can’t play longer than 10 minutes, Mauro had said.

Denilson’s previous team, Brazilian third-division Itumbiara Esporte Clube, had announced on it website he had suffered a knee injury in a Brazilian Cup match against Corinthians on March 5.

An article posted on www.itumbiaraec.br dated March 19 also said Denilson must stay out of games since March 5 until his contract with them ended on May 10.

It is clear that the player has not played any match since March 5 untill now.

Disappointment after hype

Morale at the Hai Phong club is low after the loss on Saturday, reflected in the livid reaction of about 30,000 fans when they saw Denilson sit inactive in the stands.

The club’s officials and the player himself had cited health reasons and lack of acclimatization to explain his absence.

Coach Vuong Tien Dung and other players went to their own hotel rooms after the match without the usual team meeting.

Speaking to Thanh Nien, some players said, “Winning or losing is just part of football; but the defeat to Da Nang on Saturday was too bitter to swallow.

“The home fans killed us because of a newcomer. We couldn’t concentrate on the match.”

Dung said, “The fans were not to blame. They were disappointed because of the great expectations they had of seeing Denilson play the first match of the second half of the season.”

Asked why he didn’t take the risk of putting Denilson’s name in the list of players for the match, Dung said, “It would have been worse. The fans would have created so much pressure that I would have to throw him in even for five or 10 minutes. But Denilson is physically unfit at present.

“More importantly, he hadn’t had a single practice session with the team before. How could he fit into the team?”

Denilson, a member of Brazil's 2002 World Cup-winning squad and once the world's most expensive footballer when Spain’s Real Betis paid São Paulo FC US$32 million for him.

African, European, Asian and Brazilian players have become common on Vietnamese football teams but a player of Denilson's stature, having been part of the national team that won the World Cup in 2002, is not just rare, it has not happened before.

The Brazilian has so far declined to reveal his salary but said it is less than the $40,000-50,000 a month reported by unnamed sources in local media.

Meanwhile, tournament authorities have said the stadium management will be fined for the fracas and damage caused by fans on Saturday, but there will be no other penalty imposed.

Reported by Thanh Nien staff