Dzvukamanja fit, still out of Warriors squad
WARRIORS and Bidvest Wits forward Terrence Dzvukamanja has fully recovered from an injury that ruled him out of this weekend’s Zimbabwe’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Liberia.
The Warriors’ penultimate Group G game against the Lone Stars will be played at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex in Paynesville on Sunday.
The national team coaches dropped Dzvukamanja alongside Yadah defender Byron Madzokere last week, with the technical team saying they were not going to have time to assess the duo.
Dzvukamanja picked a back injury in Bidvest Wits’ win over Maritzburg United in the quarterfinal of the Telkom Knockout Cup while Madzokere, who has been getting regular calls of late but is yet to play a part in the Afcon qualifiers, was injured during Yadah’s league game against Bulawayo City.
The South Africa-based Dzvukamanja featured in the Warriors’ last match against the Democratic Republic of Congo as a second half substitute as Zimbabwe drew 1-1 with the Leopards to cement their place at the top of Group G with eight points.
Warriors team manager Wellington Mpandare yesterday said they were not replacing the duo and will only drop one player.
“We had called a squad of 21 players and we will be leaving on Wednesday for Liberia. Terrence (Dzukamanja) is now fine but the problem is that a decision was already made to drop him so he will not be considered for this assignment,” said Mpandare.
The Warriors manager said they are “praying” that none of the players that they have called up for national duty pick injuries during their club assignments.
The foreign-based players who make up the bulk of the Warriors squad have been instructed to fly straight to Liberia from their bases.
Making a return to the national team are former skipper Willard Katsande who came out of international retirement, strikers Evans Rusike and Tino Kadewere who missed the games against DRC due to injuries.
Goalkeeper George Chigova, who had picked a knee injury against DRC last month, has also been included in the provisional squad.
The Warriors lead Group G with a threepoint cushion over second placed DRC who have five points.
And with two rounds of play remaining, they need just a point to secure their place at next year’s Afcon finals in Cameroon.
The Warriors have had some encouraging statistics from their four matches in this campaign where they have scored in every outing since the first assignment against Liberia last year which ended in a 3-0 home win.
Even in the matches that ended in a share of the spoils, Zimbabwe have scored first in every game and have not gone behind their opponents in all the games.
They also remain the only team unbeaten in Group G with two wins and two draws. The Warriors have scored seven goals and conceded three.