Marvelous Nakamba forced out of Zimbabwe squad again due to injury

BY SPORTSCAST WRITER

HARARE – Captain Marvelous Nakamba has once again been forced to withdraw from Zimbabwe’s squad following an injury reoccurrence ahead of World Cup qualification resumption this week.

The Luton Town midfielder has immediately been replaced by Richard Hachiro, who plays for local Zimbabwean side Ngezi Platinum.

“The Warriors captain suffered a reoccurrence of his calf injury over the weekend,” Zimbabwe’s football federation announced Sunday in a short statement.

31-year-old Nakamba has featured infrequently for the Warriors in recent times due to injuries, and is now set to miss clashes with Benin and Nigeria in Group C of the qualifiers.

Richard Hachiro (right) plays for 2024 Zimbabwean league champions Ngezi Platinum.

Bottom-place Zimbabwe will host Benin in Durban on Thursday before flying out to Nigeria to face the Super Eagles four days later.

Zimbabwe will be hoping to revive its World Cup qualification bid under German coach Michael Nees, who will be guiding the Warriors for the first time in the campaign. 57-year-old Nees was appointed by Zimbabwe in July 2024 with the country’s World Cup quest already in danger following two defeats to South Africa and Lesotho under the guidance of a local interim coach, Jairos Tapera.

The new coach Nees went on to secure the Warriors’ 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification, and now has the unenviable task of pulling the Zimbabweans from the bottom of the table to their first World Cup finals in their history.

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