Munetsi resumes training after injury setback
ZIMBABWE international, Marshal Munetsi has started training at French club Stade de Reims as he nears a return to full tness after a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to a hamstring injury.
Munetsi has been has been out of action since picking up a second serious injury in quick succession during game against Olympique Lyon on December 1.
The injury came in Munetsi’s rst game on his return from another long term injury which had earlier kept him on the sidelines since October 1 last year.
Having initially missed six matches for Reims between October and end of November last year, Munetsi has been out of action since the start of last month which ruled out of the Warriors’ campaign at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Cameroon.
Munetsi was one of the biggest absentees in the Warriors squad at the Afcon nals together with Marvelous Nakamba, Tendayi Darikwa and the now retired Khama Billiat.
Fortunately, the hardworking mid elder has now recovered from his injury and was last week pictured resuming light training at Stade de Reims’ Louis Blériot Training Centre.
Munetsi’s recovery has however come too early for him to feature in Reims high pro le encounter against Paris St Germain today in the reverse xture of the tie in October where he made the headlines after putting on a solid defensive performance against Argentine superstar Lionel Messi on his French Ligue 1 debut.
The injury problems have put a damper on Munetsi’s ne start to the season in which he had started in eight of Reims’ opening 10 matches of the season before his rst injury setback in October.
The former Orlando Pirates will be hoping to quickly re-establish himself in the Reims starting lineup as he edges closer to a breakthrough move to the bigger leagues in Europe after being linked with a move to England last season.
ZIMBABWE tennis player Courtney Lock has been voted onto the in uential International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Tennis Tour Player Panels where he will represent Africa Region for the next two years.
Lock, the younger brother of local tennis ace Benjamin, garnered 19 out of a total of 200 completed ballots received for the election of seven players to make the Player Panel for men.
The 25 yearold, doubles specialist, who is also a member of Zimbabwe’s Davis Cup team took to social media to express his excitement to receive the honour of representing African tennis players on the panel.
“Excited to be voted on to the ITF Players Panel representing Africa Region for a two year term. Looking forward to representing the players in working with ITF and the other panel members, while playing on tour,” said Lock.
The ITF World Tennis Tour Player Panels which are elected by players on the circuit have the primary task of providing a forum for players to o er their contribution and have their say on how the tour is run.
Other players who made the men’s players panel include Michalis Sakellaridis from Greece who had the most votes, Italian Francesco Vilardo, Juan Pablo Paz (Argentina) Jesse Flores (Costa Rica) and Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha (India).
Ines Ibbou from Algeria is the representative for Africa Region on the women players’ panel.
“We established player panels on the ITF World Tennis Tour in 2020 in order to facilitate valuable discussion and gain feedback from the playing community regarding the Tours,” ITF president David Haggerty said.
“We would like to thank the outgoing panel members for giving their time and input, particularly through the challenging circumstances of the pandemic.
“We look forward to working with the elected members of the player panels to ensure that players’ opinions are at the forefront when making decisions about the World Tennis Tour,” he added.
The elected player members will serve a term until the end of the 2023 season and will meet at least two times per year.
Australian doubles tennis great Mark Woodforde will chair the men’s tennis panel while two-time Grand Slam Mary Pierce chairs the women’s panel.
Woodforde and Pierce are also athlete representatives on the ITF Board of Directors.
ITF also plans to appoint a coach for each of the two panels.
Lock gets the recognition four months after his return to active tennis after a year on the sidelines following a double hip surgery in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa in August 2020.
Alongside his brother Benjamin, Courtney Lock has won 13 doubles titles on the ITF circuit between 2016 and 2019.
Last week, the pair had a promising run halted in the semi- nals by the doubles partnership of German Loic Cloes and MaratDeviatiarov from Ukraine at the M15 Monastir competition in Tunisia.
It was the rst time the two were playing together in 2022.