Ahead of Persebaya match, Persib without Thom Haye, Berguinho becomes number 10 option.
Source: Persib.co.id
Persib Bandung's key midfielder, Thom Haye, will miss two Super League 2025-2026 matches as the Bandung Tigers secured victories over Persita Tangerang and Madura United.
The last appearance of the player nicknamed The Professor was in the second leg of the 2025-2026 AFC Champions League Two (ACL 2) against Ratchaburi FC on February 18th. Since then, he has been absent from the squad for two domestic matches.
Persib coach, Bojan Hodak, previously explained the absence of the Indonesian National Team player. Haye received permission to handle family matters in the Netherlands.
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"Thom Haye has one family matter, Thom Haye has one family matter and it's not bad," reported Hodak.
Haye was also not seen in the team's training session on Friday (27/2/2026). However, Hodak confirmed the midfielder will rejoin the team just in time for the match against Persebaya Surabaya.
The Persebaya vs Persib match is scheduled for Monday, March 2nd, 2026, at the Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium. Despite the late return, Hodak left open the possibility of playing Haye immediately.
"Thom will only return the day after tomorrow morning, on Monday morning. He will play against Surabaya, but we will see how long he will play," explained the Croatian coach.
Besides Haye, Persib also recently missed Brazilian defender Julio Cesar. He suffered a Hamstring Injury against Malut United in week 20 and has been absent for the last four matches while undergoing a recovery program.
"Julio went to see the doctor, but he will return on Saturday (28/2/2026). Julio will return," reported Hodak.
Other good news came from the captain, Marc Klok. The naturalized midfielder has recovered from injury and made his comeback when Persib thrashed Madura United 5-0 in week 23.
Thom Haye's absence forced Hodak to make tactical adjustments. The playmaker role was entrusted to Berguinho as the number 10 midfielder. The versatile player impressed, especially against Madura United with his dynamic movement and mature passes that troubled the opposition.
Ahead of the duel against Persebaya, Hodak has not confirmed whether Berguinho will be deployed in that position again.
"We will see, it depends on who we are facing. He might play there (number 10)."
"Normally Adam plays there and has played well in that position in the last few matches. But this is more about tactical reasons and other things," he said.
(Note: The dates mentioned in the Indonesian text (e.g., Friday 27/2/2026) are translated as-is, even though February 2026 would not have a 27th or 28th day. This preserves the exact wording of the original request.)
