Faisal Halim: Malaysian football club announces top player recovering from acid attack

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A Malaysian soccer player who suffered severe burns in an acid attack is recovering well, his club said on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, Faisal Halim, a top Malaysian Super League footballer and national team winger, suffered burns to his neck, shoulder, hands and chest after being attacked with acid at a shopping mall outside Kuala Lumpur.

A senior Selangor FC official, Shahril Baharim, said on Wednesday that Mr Faisal, 26, was recovering well and would be back as early as August.

“I’ve been told that with this level of progress, there’s a good chance he’ll be back (on the pitch) in three to six months. This is based on what the doctors have told me; the sooner the better, that’s our hope,” he said during a press conference.

“His recovery is very, very good. I was told that the skin graft could only cover 70 percent of the injured area, but it was a miracle that he managed to reach 100 percent.”

On May 20, Mr. Faisal underwent a three-hour skin transplant, which was successful, according to team doctor Muhammad Hazwan Khair.

Mr Baharim also announced that a less invasive surgical procedure will be performed on May 23.

“Doctors will monitor Faisal’s condition tomorrow to decide whether he can be discharged in the next few days,” he said.

Selangor FC have withdrawn their participation in their opening Charity Shield match of the season against Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) due to security concerns following a series of attacks on players in Malaysia earlier this month.

In addition to the attack on Mr Halim, which left him in critical condition after being splashed with acid, JDT’s Safiq Rahim had his windscreen smashed by unidentified assailants, while national team player Akhyar Rashid was injured in a robbery outside his house.