JOHANNESBURG Dec 28 (Reuters) – Zambia have given up
hope Dutch-based striker Jacob Mulenga will recover in time from
injury and left him out of their preliminary squad for next
month’s African Nations Cup finals.
Mulenga suffered a knee injury in action for FC Utrecht in
October but Zambia were hopeful he would return after surgery in
time for the tournament in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, which
starts on Jan. 21.
However, coach Herve Renard has confirmed Mulenga’s recovery
would take longer than expected and that he would miss the
Nations Cup for a second successive time.
Striker Jonas Sakuwaha had been recalled to the squad, which
will be cut to 23 from 28 on Jan. 10, officials said.
Zambia began preparations in Johannesburg on Wednesday and
play a warm-up against South Africa in Pretoria on Jan. 11.
At the Nations Cup, Zambia compete in Group A along with
co-hosts Equatorial Guinea, Libya and Senegal.
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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