Harambee Stars assistant coach, Vasili Manousakis, has shed light on the omission of captain Michael Olunga from the latest Harambee Stars squad.
Olunga headlines a list of notable absentees from coach Benni McCarthy’s current team set to face Equatorial Guinea and Senegal for the upcoming international friendlies to be played in Turkey.
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Manousakis, standing in for McCarthy while speaking to the media during Kenya’s final training session at Nyayo National Stadium on Tuesday, November 11, explained that the decision was to rest certain players based on fixture congestion and player welfare.
“Some players missed out due to a tight schedule in their domestic leagues. We decided to give time off to guys like Michael Olunga and Collins Sichenje to help them recover and freshen up the squad,” said Manousakis.
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The South African tactician also confirmed that several key players will miss the Turkish friendlies due to injuries.
“We have quite a few injuries in the team, players like Adam Wilson, Job Ochieng, Manzur Okwaro, Vincent Harper, Timothy Ouma, and Eric Ouma are all sidelined,” he noted.
Despite the absence of several senior figures, the assistant coach expressed optimism about the squad’s potential.
“This is a great opportunity for new and upcoming players to step up and show what they can do. These are friendly matches, so the focus is on performance and building depth,” he added.
Kenya will play Equatorial Guinea on Friday, November 14, the same day Olunga’s club, Al Arabi, faces Al Shamal in Round Six of the Qatar Stars League Cup. The striker, who recently returned from injury, is expected to lead his club’s attack in the match.
Harambee Stars will then return to action on Tuesday, November 18, against Senegal, who will arrive in Turkey fresh from a high-profile clash with record world champions Brazil.
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