This archive report was first published on 3 September 2019.
Kenya's national football team, Harambee Stars, will be missing several key players when they take on Uganda in an international friendly this weekend.
The team will be without captain Victor Mugubi Wanyama, midfielder Johanna Omollo, and young defender Joseph Okumu, who recently impressed at the African Cup of Nations.
According to new Stars head coach Francis Kimanzi, Omollo is nursing an injury, while Wanyama is still recovering. Okumu, who has just joined a new club in Sweden, needs time to settle in.
"We will have a full report on whether Victor (Wanyama) will be available for the match in the course of the week, (Joseph) Okumu hasn't settled yet in Sweden so we will also give him some time off while Johanna (Omollo) is injured and needs time to nurse it," Kimanzi said.
Despite the absence of these key players, the team will still have a strong squad, with 14 local-based players participating in the training camp, including number one goalkeeper Patrick Matasi of St. Georges of Ethiopia.
Stars will face Uganda Cranes on Sunday at Moi International Sports Complex Kasarani from 4pm.
Uganda Cranes interim head coach Abdalla Mubiru has already named a 25-man squad for the friendly, with the local-based players set to train on Thursday at the StarTimes Stadium before flying to Nairobi on the same evening.
Both teams will use the friendly to gauge their squad ahead of World Cup 2022 Qualifiers as well as AFCON 2021.
