After much speculation over his club future, Geylang International winger Fareez Farhan made his long-awaited return to first-team action when he came off the bench in the tail-end of the clash with Balestier Khalsa last weekend.
Having been kept out of the matchday squad for 10 consecutive games due to fitness issue, the 28-year-old seemed to be making up for lost time as he provided an assist for the Eagles' final goal deep in stoppage time.
Fareez would be eager to show the club faithful that there is more to come from him in the remaining quarter of the campaign as he seeks to fulfil his potential and return to top form.
Once touted as a football prodigy during his budding years with Gombak United and Young Lions, Fareez joined Geylang International from Hougang United in 2019.
The former golden boy made a fine start to his Eagles career as he bagged 11 goals in 28 appearances from all competitions that season, including the three-goal haul in a league match against the Cheetahs.
For those goal returns, Fareez earned a call-up to the Singapore national team in September that year and made his international debut against Palestine in a 2022 World Cup qualifying match.
But the Singapore international has not been able to hit those heights since the 2019 season, with inconsistent form and lack of match fitness plaguing his game.
In fact, he managed to find the net only once in 27 appearances across the next three campaigns.
The forthcoming fixture against Young Lions this Saturday (August 27) provides the perfect opponent for Fareez to shine.
The development side, consisting of under-23 Singaporean players, are rooted to the bottom of the table on seven points and have suffered heavy losses in recent weeks (10-1, 7-1, 5-1 to Lion City Sailors, Albirex Niigata, Hougang United respectively ).
Should Geylang International head coach Noor Ali hand Fareez an extended game time against his former club, the ball is in his court to prove his worth.
Team news: Umar Akhbar will play no part in this fixture as he serves the final of his two-game ban.
Fadli Kamis continues to be sidelined with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
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