Malawi’s Australia-based netball icon Mwawi Kumwenda will miss the 2019 Netball World Cup in Liverpool, England after being given a one-year rest following a successful knee surgery.
The 28-year-old netballer’s manager Hlupekile Chalamba yesterday said doctors have advised the lofty shooter to avoid netball action for at least 12 months, meaning, she would be fully fit in August 2019, a month after the Netball World Cup scheduled between July 12 and 21 next year.
“Mwawi was discharged and she is now home. She will be on crutches for the next four weeks and she will not be able to play netball for 10 to 12 months,” she said.
“Of course, she might recuperate sooner than expected, but the doctors have insisted she needs ample time for a full recovery and it would be risky for her to get into the netball court much earlier.”
Kumwenda suffered the injury after landing awkwardly during a Suncorp Super Netball League match between her Australia team Melbourne Vixens and West Coast Fever on July 28.
The injury prompted her to miss the Malawi Queens’ African Netball Championship campaign for the second time in a row. In 2017, she failed to travel with the Queens to Uganda due to her club commitments. Then, the Queens faltered against the current defending champions Uganda’s She Cranes.
At the ongoing championship in Zambia, the Queens, who suffered a 46-51 loss to Uganda on Wednesday, bank their hopes on the shooting prowess of Joyce Mvula and Alinafe Kamwala in Mwawi’s absence.
Former Queens’ star shooter Linda Magombo-Munthali yesterday said Mwawi’s injury should give the Queens’ technical panel food for thought to seriously plan on sharpening the skills of the available shooters.
