When Faisal Abdul Halim was the victim of a horrific acid attack back in 2024, returning to football seemed would have been the last thing on his mind.
Just staying alive, for one, was a far bigger priority.
Suffering fourth-degree burns to his neck, shoulder, hands and chest, Faisal was left in a critical condition but -- through sheer resilience -- he not only recovered sufficiently to get back on his feet, quite literally, but made a heroic return to the pitch just over three months later.
Two years on, the second anniversary of that dreadful accident also happened to be the eve of Selangor's ASEAN Club Championship semifinal first leg against Thép Xanh Nam Định on Tuesday.
Throughout the past 24 months, Faisal has been an unwavering symbol of bravery not just with Selangor, but Malaysian football as a whole.
And it was with this same courage he addressed the attack in the pre-match news conference, instead preferring to use his comeback story as further motivation and inspiration.
"Today is a hard day for me as it's two years after my accident," he said.
"It's not easy. I accept what happened before. My face may be different but [not] my heart and passion -- I'm eager to work hard every game, every training session, to be the best. I always want to give my best for the team and for myself.
"I want to come back with my performance from the last two years. Some people say 'Mickey' [his nickname] is back, but for me, it's not [done]. I still want to work harder.
"For me, I want to be consistent in every match. I won't stop working hard with the support of my teammates and coach.
"I've come back to play football again with the support of my teammates, family and friends. It's hard for me but I'm eager and excited for tomorrow."
Faisal has been in brilliant form in this season's ASEAN Club Championship -- officially the 2025-26 Shopee Cup -- with four goals in five games, playing a crucial role in Selangor's impressive charge to the last four.
Selangor will be aware of the test in front of them on Wednesday in the form of a Nam Định outfit who boasted the best record in the group stage with four wins, a draw and no losses -- scoring 13 goals and conceding just three in the process.
Vietnamese football has widely been regarded as one of Southeast Asia's leading lights over the past decade, alongside traditional heavyweights Thailand and rising force Indonesia.
According to Selangor coach Kim Pan-Gon, that will only provide added impetus for his players to go out and show where they stand at the regional club level.
"In this region, normally people say Thailand and Vietnam are ahead of Malaysia," said Kim, who was coach of Malaysia from 2022 to 2024 and led them to a historic first AFC Asian Cup on merit in 42 years.
"But tomorrow we want to show that Malaysia can compete, [and is]strong enough to compete against [teams from] Vietnam or Thailand.
"If we can get into the final representing Malaysia, it will be very meaningful for the people of Malaysia."