Central African Republic head coach Francois Zahoui will have to do without the services of the midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia when they take on Burundi in their 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier slated for Bangui on Wednesday.
According to information from CAR Football Federation, the Spain based player picked up a hamstring injury in their weekend 2-0 win over Granada and would be out of action for at least three weeks.
In his place, Zahoui has called New England Revolution winger Wilfred Zahibo to replace the national team captain.
The Wild Beasts now have a full complement of players following the arrival of midfielders Amos Youga, Franklin Anztine from Malaysia as well as attackers Louis Mafouta (France) and Foxi Kethevoama (Turkey).
Anztine arrived on Monday morning and joined his team-mates at training, while the trio of Mafouta, Kethevoama and Youga took part in the afternoon training session. The Red Devils are camping in the outskirts of Bangui to prepare for the matches against Burundi and Mauritania.
“We are glad we have all the players in camp and now we are able to plan properly. As for Kondogbia, it’s a blow that he is not with us, but we have to soldier on as I believe we have other players that can take his place,” coach Zahoui told reporters.
“We are playing high-profile teams and we all know what they are capable of. We respect them, but should not over-respect. Against Burundi, a win is still possible and I believe we can pull it off.”
