Irfan Jaya's Bitter Return After Injury

Bali United winger, Irfan Jaya, returned to the field after being sidelined for several months due to injury. However, his comeback was not a sweet one. His presence was not enough to bring Bali United back on the winning track.

Irfan Jaya scored 1 goal and provided 1 assist for Bali United during the away match against PSIM Yogyakarta, at the Sultan Agung Stadium, Bantul, Monday (23/2/2026). However, his contribution was not enough to secure a full points for Serdadu Tridatu.

Bali United had to settle for a draw after being held by PSIM Yogyakarta with a final score of 3-3. In fact, the team coached by Johnny Jansen had a 3-0 lead before being equalised by Laskar Mataram.

Irfan Jaya admitted that he was happy to be back on the field and contribute to the team. However, he was disappointed with the draw against PSIM.

“I’m happy to be back, but it’s a pity that we couldn’t get 3 points. We failed to bring points back to Bali, we were leading by three goals and in the end, it was a draw,” said Irfan Jaya, Wednesday (25/2/2026).

Irfan does not want to dwell on the disappointment. The former Indonesian national team winger affirmed that Bali United will refocus on the next match.

“Our focus now is on preparing in Bali for the next match,” said Irfan Jaya.

It is known that Irfan Jaya was sidelined for quite some time due to a fractured knee injury at the beginning of the 2025/2026 Super League competition. As a result, he missed more than a dozen matches in the first round.

Irfan Jaya was confirmed to have started light training in early January 2026, but was still separated from the team. The team doctor then predicted that Irfan could return to the field in the second round. Irfan Jaya’s return was marked when Bali United was defeated by Persija Jakarta 0-1 on Sunday (15/2/2026).