The Warriors have suffered a significant setback with the withdrawal of Tino Kadewere from the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers against Kenya and Cameroon due to an injury.
Zimbabwe is set to launch its Group J qualifying campaign against the Harambe Stars on Friday in Kampala, Uganda, where they will play as the away team. Four days later, they will “host” the Indomitable Lions, with both matches taking place at Mandela Stadium since neither Kenya nor Zimbabwe has a Caf-certified venue for international fixtures.
Kadewere’s injury comes as the latest blow to the Warriors, who have been grappling with a series of setbacks leading up to these crucial matches.
The Zimbabwe Football Association confirmed that the striker sustained a hamstring injury while playing for his French Ligue 1 club, Nantes, over the weekend. Despite his absence, Kadewere had an impressive outing, providing two assists in Nantes’ 3-1 victory over Montpellier.
With Kadewere sidelined, the Warriors now face challenges in their forward line, leaving only Prince Dube, Obriel Chirinda, and newcomer Douglas Mapfumo as recognized strikers in the squad.
This injury comes just days after Plymouth Argyle defender Brendan Galloway was also ruled out due to a hamstring issue. Galloway will be replaced by Farai Banda, captain of Manica Diamonds.
Banda left Harare yesterday, along with Teenage Hadebe, and they are expected to join the rest of the squad this morning.
The locally-based players, including veteran Khama Billiat, along with coach Michael Nees and his technical staff, arrived in Kampala from Harare yesterday. They will link up with many of the foreign-based players who traveled directly to the East African nation.
The final group of foreign-based players—Warriors captain Marshall Munetsi from France, Munashe Garananga from Copenhagen, and Udinese’s Jordan Zemura—are scheduled to join the camp this morning after competing for their clubs on Sunday.
Nees, who was appointed head coach of the Warriors two weeks ago, is anticipated to conduct his first training session this afternoon. (AfroGazette)
