Blow for Warriors… Antipas ruled out… Two players ignore call up
WARRIORS midfielder Quincy Antipas has been ruled out of next weekend’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Guinea after suffering an ankle injury that required minor surgery last week.
That’s not all the bad news for coach Callisto Pasuwa.
The highly-rated Tendayi Darikwa is said to have turned down the offer to play for the Warriors as he clings to slim hopes of playing for England.
Doubts also persist over the availability of Sparta Prague man Costa Nhamoinesu with the Czech-based defender non-committal.
However, Warriors team manager Shariff Mussa remains confident of making a breakthrough in his engagement with the former Masvingo United man.
But there won’t be any breakthrough with Antipas as the 31-year-old Hobro IK midfielder is expected to be out for at least three weeks.
“Playing for your country is the ultimate honour and it’s very unfortunate I won’t be able to come for the game against Guinea,” said the midfielder from his Danish base on Friday night. “I really would have loved to come and wear that jersey again after sometime on the sidelines but this injury has me grounded for a couple of weeks.
“It’s an ankle injury and you know with ankles you have to be very careful. I had to undergo surgery and will now wait to hear from the doctors.” Hobro head coach Jonas Dal told the Danish media that Antipas was under strict supervision as his team was desperate to have him back in action following a string of poor results.
“We are working to make Quincy clear. Can we just get him ready, so we get some X factor that many other football players have not . . . I think all the other teams in the Super League will miss a player like Antipas, so we do of course. We miss him so much, I can say that,” Dal was quoted saying by Ekstra Bladet.
On Darikwa, Zifa have engaged the player’s parents as they seek to talk him into a change of heart. In 2013, the defender expressed a burning desire to wear the Warriors jersey but that flame was extinguished after an encounter with a corrupt former Zifa official.
Darikwa alleged he was asked to pay “a processing fee” by the former Zifa employee his handlers had approached.
Now he appears intent on taking a shot at playing for the Three Lions after some rave reviews in England over the past couple of seasons.
Zifa chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze confirmed they had approached Darikwa’s parents in a desperate bid to get the Burnley man to reconsider his Warriors snub.
“Obviously there are issues that are said to have happened in the past and it is up to us as Zifa to clear our name and get the player to come and play for the national team.
“This is a special case we are handling as the Zifa secretariat. However, all the other issues relating to players and stuff like that are being handled by the team manager,” said Mashingaidze.
Warriors Squad
Goalkeepers: Washington Arubi (University of Pretoria), Elvin Chipezeze (Chicken Inn), Tatenda Munditi (Harare City)
Defenders: Hardlife Zvirekwi (Caps United), Tendai Darikwa (Leeds United), Milton Ncube (Ajax Cape Town), Costa Nhamoinesu (Sparta Prague), Patson Jaure ( University of Pretoria), Teenage Hadebe (Highlanders), Justice Jangano ( Caps United)
Midfielders: Willard Katsande (Kaizer Chiefs), Danny Phiri (Chicken Inn), Bonnie Macauley (Colchester United), Cuthbert Malajila (Mamelodi Sundowns), Khama Billiat (Mamelodi Sundowns), Kuda Mahachi (Mamelodi Sundowns), Quincy Antipas (Hobro IK)
Strikers: Edmore Chirambadare (Chicken Inn), Knowledge Musona (KV Oostende), Matthew Rusike (Halmstads BK), Nyasha Mushekwi (Mamelodi Sundowns) The Sunday Mail
