Chronicle Editor
Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
WARRIORS manager Wellington Mupandare has described the return to fitness of national team defensive midfielder Marshal Munetsi as “good news” for their preparations for the must-win Afcon qualifiers set for next month.
Munetsi is one of the key figures in the Warriors’ set up and his availability gives head coach Zdravko Logarusic a wide selection range.
The France-based midfielder, who turns out for Reims, was a second-half substitute in a midweek cup game his team lost 3-4 to Valenciennes.
On Saturday night, Munetsi played the entire league match in their 1-1 stalemate with Lens.
Besides Munetsi, Mupandare is hopeful that both skipper Knowledge Musona and Khama Billiat will be available for the qualifiers against Botswana and Zambia.
“The good news is that Munetsi is back to the field; he played a cup game last week. I spoke to Khama last week and he said he’s back in the gym. He is hoping that in three weeks’ time he’ll have returned to the field. Knowledge’s situation is not as bad as that of Khama and we are keeping our fingers crossed that he recovers in time,” said Mpandare.
The Warriors are second in Group H with five points from four games and will be involved in must-win games away against Botswana on March 22 followed by a clash with Zambia eight days later.
Algeria top the group with 10 points and have already qualified for the continental football extravaganza to be held in Cameroon in January 2022, leaving Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana fighting for the remaining slot. — @ZililoR
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