China's Zhang an injury doubt for World Cup qualifiers: reports

GUANGZHOU, April 4 -- Zhang Linpeng is likely to sit out China's forthcoming World Cup qualifiers with injury, the Guangzhou Daily reported on Sunday.

The 31-year-old defender picked up an ankle injury while competing in the Asian Champions League with his club Guangzhou FC in Doha last December, and had been expected to recover in six weeks.

"Zhang Linpeng will probably be forced to miss the remaining Group A World Cup Asian qualifiers with injury," read the Guangzhou Daily report.

The Chinese national team finished their sixth training camp under head coach Li Tie on Saturday with a 3-0 win over Chinese Super League side Shandong Taishan in a practise match.

After the win, the Chinese national team players were released to their respective clubs to prepare for the new CSL season, which will start on April 20.

They will convene again in Suzhou on May 20 ahead of the forthcoming World Cup Asian qualifiers.

China will host all remaining Group A matches from May 30 to June 15 in Suzhou. They will face Guam, the Philippines, the Maldives and Syria in succession.

China is currently eight points adrift of group leaders Syria, and only leads the Philippines which is in third place on goal difference.