Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy has explained why he didn’t call up defender Eric ‘Marcelo’ Ouma to his latest team.
Ouma has been a key figure in the national team and many were surprised by his omission after McCarthy named his squad for next month duty against the Gambia and Seychelles.
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Tasked to answer why he didn’t call up the left back, the South African revealed that Ouma had picked an injury and was set for an operation.
“Eic Marcelo Ouma?” One fan asked in a post by the coach enquiring why the player was out of the squad. “Achilles tendon operation,” came McCarthy’s answer.
The injury for Ouma will be a huge setback for Rakow who ae fighting for a place in the group stage of the UEFA Conference League having had a 1-0 lead from the first leg of the playoff against Arda.
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Another fan went ahead to ask why Mohamed Bajaber wasn’t in the tam too despite featuring for Simba SC in preseason games.
“Recovery,” McCarthy answered suggesting that he was giving the player some time off to recover after he missed the CHAN 2024 tournament before signing for the Tanzania giants.
McCarthy also omitted midfielder Austin Odhiambo from the squad but gave no explanation as to why he omitted the player who scored two goals in the ongoing CHAN 2024.
Kenya will host The Gambia on Friday, September 5, 2025 then take on Seychelles four days later with all the games set for Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.
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