Flames trio ruled out of crucial Egypt game

Injuries and passport hitches have ruled out Harry Nyirenda, Robert Ng’ambi and Frank ‘Gabadinho’ Mhango from the Flames’ trip to Egypt next Monday for a friendly match.
The trio’s absence will deny Flames coach Young Chimodzi full opportunity to build cohesion ahead of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Zimbabwe next weekend.

Striker Mhango and midfielder Ng’ambi are recovering from groin injuries whereas defender Nyirenda has passport issues to sort out, Chimodzi confirmed yesterday. Home-based players, who were to be dropped, could replace the trio.
“Robert is still not okay. Even at his club, he has been on and off. Harry might rejoin us after the game in Egypt and Gaba has just undergone an operation. We have Esau Kanyenda, Atusaye Nyondo back and Joseph Kamwendo will also join us,” he explained.
The squad to make the Egypt trip will likely also be selected for the game against Zimbabwe, Chimodzi hinted. This means that Mhango and Ng’ambi are out of the Zimbabwe meeting.
“All the players who were with the team in South Africa for Cosafa Cup will go into camp tomorrow [today] and we will pick the squad to travel to Egypt,” Chimodzi said.
Nyirenda, who starts ahead of Lucky Malata, cited his club Black Leopards’ involvement in promotion play-offs as one of the reasons that kept him out of the 2015 Cosafa Cup squad. Malata and Limbikani Mzava scored own goals during the Cosafa Cup where the former also picked a red card.
“But for the Zimbabwe game, I will be available. I will be home by Saturday. I lost my passport and I need to go and process travelling documents on Thursday in Pretoria,” he explained.
Celtic team manager John Maduka confirmed the non-availability of Mhango for the trip to Egypt and the game against Zimbabwe, saying he underwent a groin surgery.
“He came out of hospital on Saturday and it was successful. He has had this problem for a long time and it explains why he struggled last season. We resolved to have it treated, so that when the season starts, he is 100 percent fit. He will be out for some six weeks,” Maduka said.
Egypt, who are tuning up for Afcon Group G qualifiers against Nigeria, Tanzania and Chad, have chosen to play Malawi and Burundi on June 8 and 12 respectively because the two opponents are readily available on the said dates, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced on its website on Wednesday.
“Argentine coach Hector Cuper has rejected offers to play against Sierra Leone, Djibouti, Uzbekistan, Australia or Syria, choosing to face Burundi and Malawi for the appropriate dates that were available.”