Knowledge Musona back in action

By Eddie Chikamhi

The light is beginning to shine again for Warriors skipper Knowledge Musona who has begun his rehabilitation with the Anderlecht reserve side after recovering from a hernia problem that kept him out of action for the past few months.

The Zimbabwe international recently underwent surgery and it appears he is now fit enough to begin his battles to prove himself with the new technical team led by Vincent Kompany and Simon Davis.

Musona played 64 minutes for the Anderlecht Under-21 side on Monday night and scored a goal in the 3-2 win over KAA Gent.

The Zimbabwe international had been placed on the injury list by his club after he underwent a hernia operation.

Anderlecht use their Under-21 side for rehabilitating players working their way back to the senior side from injuries or after having lost their place in the first team.

Musona’s goal helped Anderlecht Under-21 win 3-2 and climb top of the table with nine out of a possible 12 points.

Antoine Colassin and Nayel Mehssatou scored the other goals.

British forward Kemar Roofe (26), who joined them from Leeds recently, was also expected to feature in the match after shaking off a two-month injury.

But, he had to be reserved for last night’s Belgian Cup game against Beerschot.

Musona, however, is still nowhere near the first team.

He had fallen out of favour with the previous coach but Anderlecht decided against offloading him because of his long contract which expires in 2022.

According to the information on the club’s website, Anderlecht have 37 players who can be considered for first team, including Musona, who was handed back his number 11 jersey after initially having been left out.

Musona’s career at the Belgian giants had been shrouded in uncertainty after he was considered excess baggage at the beginning of the season.

But the Warriors forward is determined to prove his critics wrong by reclaiming his place back in the first team.

He can still raise his hands to provide the options after the team struggled early in the season.

Despite holding the record as Belgium’s most successful club, Anderlecht have experienced their worst start in nearly a century after managing only five points from eight matches.

This has left them reeling fourth-from-the-bottom of the table, with five points from eight games, following their latest defeat to Club Brugge.

Anderlecht have also been facing a crisis of proportions, in front of goal, where they have only found the target six times in 720 minutes of Pro-League football this season.

Reports from Belgium suggest the technical team could be forced to look down into the reserve side for reinforcements.

“The staff can also count on another player, Knowledge Musona. Operated from a hernia, the Zimbabwean is back in training for a big fortnight.

“He played with the reserves Monday night and showed some nice things.

“In addition to scoring a goal, he showed a strong desire to play that earned him a yellow card.

“He is ready to troubleshoot and offers an alternative to Kompany if he wants to turn his staff,” reported Belgian magazine La Dernière Heure and Les Sport.

The forward had been out of action since his last appearance for the Warriors during the disastrous 2019 AFCON finals held in Egypt.

His recovery will also come as sweet music in the ears of Zimbabwe interim coach Joey Antipas ahead of the opening matches of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Botswana and Zambia in November. The Herald