Kenyan defender Joash Onyango has officially been ruled out of the Africa Cup of Nations clash against Tanzania on Thursday.
The Gor Mahia player missed the opening Group C match against Algeria owing to injury and according to Football Kenya Federation (FKF) President Nick Mwendwa, Onyango is yet to recover from a toe injury, but could return against Senegal in the final match.
“Onyango trained yesterday [Tuesday] with the rest of the squad but he still got pain in the leg that he injured before the opening match against Algeria,” Mwendwa told Goal from Egypt.
“We cannot risk playing him with such a pain but the doctors say he will be ready for the final Group C match against Senegal. We have really been hit hard in terms of injuries to key players but we will strive to use the ones who are fit and available.”
The FKF boss has also urged Kenyans fans to rally behind the team despite losing the opener against Algeria 2-0 saying they still have chance to make it to the knockout stages.
“The players are pained after the defeat, if you look at them, no one is happy. They don’t want to talk about the Algeria game, they have assured us that they will step up against Tanzania,” Mwendwa continued.
“If we get a win against Taifa Stars then at least we can fight and get something from Senegal, we still have a chance and the fans should not give up. They should keep supporting the team and remain positive.”
As earlier reported by Goal, coach Sebastien Migne will shuffle is backline for the Tanzania match with Zesco United defender David ‘Calabar’ Owino set to come in for Musa Mohammed, who is yet to recover from a knock he picked up against Algeria.
Kenya will come up against their East African neighbours Tanzania on Thursday with both sides knowing defeat will end their hopes of making it to the knockout stage of the competition.
The Harambee Stars and Taifa Stars sit joint-bottom of Group C after one round of matches and know that anything less than victory in their Group C second round match will probably end their quest to progress to the knockout phase.
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