Kenya’s head coach Benni McCarthy explained why Harambee Stars captain Michael Olunga was left out of the squad for the upcoming match against Eritrea, despite returning from a serious injury.
The striker later told McCarthy he was still experiencing some stiffness in his legs, prompting him to undergo a scan.
According to McCarthy, the scan showed that Olunga had suffered minor strains, although he would have been able to travel and join the national team camp.
Benni McCarthy Explains Why Michael Olunga Will Miss Eritrea Match After Injury Scan
However, McCarthy said he and Olunga agreed the best decision was to let the Al Duhail striker continue his recovery with his club rather than risk aggravating the problem during the international break.
“Michael Olunga came back from a serious injury. He had a couple of appearances coming on as a sub, and then on Monday night he started his first game since coming back from the injury,” McCarthy explained.
“He called me and spoke to me to say that he still felt a bit of stiffness in his legs. He did a scan, and the scan picked up that he had some strains, little strains, but he would be okay if he was to come.”
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McCarthy said the decision was made with Kenya’s longer-term commitments in mind, particularly the upcoming fixture against South Africa and the Africa Cup of Nations.
“He and I decided that it was maybe in the best interest for the long term, for the match against South Africa coming up, and then hopefully for AFCON next year, that it was probably the best decision to excuse him from this camp,” he said.
The coach admitted that Kenya could not afford to lose Olunga for another extended period, especially with Jonah Ayunga already sidelined.
“God forbid anything bad were to happen, and then we don’t have him again for a long period of time. We can’t afford that because everybody, Jonah Ayunga is also out long term, and then Michael Olunga,” McCarthy added.
The coach therefore opted to give Olunga more time to recover and continue his rehabilitation and preparations with his club.
McCarthy said the national team would continue monitoring the striker’s progress before deciding when he is ready to return to the squad.
“I think the smartest thing for me was to allow Michael to just continue his rehab and preparations with his team, and we’ll see further down the line how his body has recovered and how he is physically, and yeah, then we’ll see him back part of the national team,” he said.
McCarthy Explains Captaincy Decision
With Olunga unavailable for the Eritrea match, McCarthy was also asked about the captaincy hierarchy and who would wear the armband.
The coach said the technical team would first settle on the starting lineup before deciding who would captain the team.
He explained that the approach was to select the players based on the tactical requirements of the match and then choose the captain from the confirmed starting eleven.
“We shall have a sit-down with the technical team and establish who will go out and represent us tomorrow. Previously, Abud Omar was the captain in CHAN, but we shall see how to go about it tomorrow,” McCarthy said.
“Once the team is sorted, then we can select the captain.”
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