SINGAPORE - Albirex Niigata have been without their talisman since mid-May, after a knee injury sidelined their 11-goal scorer Kiyoshiro Tsuboi.

But the defending champions' engine is still chugging along in his absence, with seven different players getting on the scoresheet in the last five Singapore Premier League (SPL) games. In that time, they have notched three wins, a draw and suffered their only loss of the season.