FCB Nyasa Big Bullets are scheduled to leave the country this afternoon for Equatorial Guinea where they will take on Dragon FC in a Caf Champions League preliminary round fixture in Malabo on Sunday.
Bullets will be hoping to put up a better performance with the return of centre back Clyde Senaji, who has been on the sidelines for over a month due to injury.
But the TNM Super League defending champions are still without left back Alick Lungu, midfielder Mike Mkwate and strikers Hassan Kajoke and Stanly Biliat, who are yet to recover from their injuries.
Bullets Coach Kallisto Pasuwa said he was keeping his fingers crossed on the availability of left back Precious Sambani, who is expected to undergo a final assessment this morning after sustaining a muscle injury during Bullets’ Super League match against Mafco last week.
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Speaking after their final training session at Blantyre Sports Club Wednesday, Pasuwa said Sambani failed a fitness test last week and needs to be assessed again.
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“The players are doing quite well but I am mostly worried because it is the same players in each and every game, and even during training sessions. But so far so good. My hope is that Sambani will not join the list of our injured players. Of late, he has not been comfortable when kicking the ball.
“He failed a fitness test last week and the doctors are still assessing him. He has to pass the late fitness test and we will then see how we can bring him back into the squad. But Senaji is back after missing two matches due to injury. Of course, the injury was not a serious one. So he will be with us on the trip,” Pasuwa said.
The Zimbabwean said they need to be tactically good if they are to make it in the continental competition.
“Local games are very different from international ones, where you need to be tactically good in order to come good. So most of our training sessions were tactical and we are hoping for the best. The problem I am having here is that most of the times we are losing the spine of the team. These are regulars in goalkeeping, midfield and upfront,” he said. Bullets signed Senaji and Collins Okumu to help them weather the storm in the Caf Champions League after selling lanky striker Babatunde Adepoju to South Africa National First Division side Venda FC.
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The People’s Team also lost midfielder Chimwemwe Idana following contractual disagreements.
Senaji said having played continental club matches for several years with his former Kenyan side Tusker FC, he knows what to expect.
“I am optimistic that we will get a win on Sunday. It is every player’s ambition to play in continental competitions; so this is the right stage for us to showcase our capabilities. I have played at this level before and I know what it takes to win. We have had good preparations and I believe we will sail through,” he said.
After Sunday’s match, the two teams will meet again after a week here in Malawi
