Blow for Warriors as Darikwa pulls out of AFCON tournament squad

Zimbabwe international defender Tendayi Darikwa has reportedly pulled out of the Warriors squad set to participate at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals slated for January 2022 in Cameroon.

The Warriors team manager Wellington Mpandare confirmed the new development to the State owned tabloid newspaper, H-Metro, in an article published on Thursday.

Darikwa’s withdrawal from the Warriors team comes as a huge blow to interim coach Norman Mapeza who is reportedly set to lead the team to AFCON in less than a month to come.

He (Darikwa) becomes the latest Warriors player set to miss the rescheduled continent’s biggest tournament next year.

This comes after Marshall Munetsi and Brendan Galloway were officially ruled out of the AFCON finals due to injuries.

While former Warriors poster boy Khama Billiat will also be unavailable following his retirement from international football last month (November).

However, recent reports indicate that the country’s football mother body ZIFA is initially on the verge of persuading the Kaizer Chiefs star to come out of retirement.

Meanwhile, Darikwa pulls out of the squad less than 24 hours after he helped his English League One side, Wigan to a hard fought 2-1 victory over Shrewsbury FC.

The Wigan captain opened the scoring for his side through a volley with only two minutes into the game before his teammate sealed the win through a last minute goal. Nehanda Radio