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Mushekwi doubtful

by Grace Chingoma
24 Aug 2016 at 06:28hrs | Views
ZIMBABWE international forward Nyasha Mushekwi has struck a rich vein of form with his Chinese club and there are strong indications he is unlikely to be released for the African Cup of Nations Group L qualifier against Guinea early next month.

Mushekwi would be the third player to be omitted in coach Callisto Pasuwa's squad which is still being finalised by the technical team.

The Zimbabwe coach is expected to announce his squad today.

Pasuwa has already indicated he is considering giving Khama Billiat a rest following a hectic season with the Brazilians involved in the CAF Champions League.

CAPS United defender Hardlife Zvirekwi has already been ruled out for the last match after he was suspended by CAF for accumulating two yellow cards.

The coach has indicated that he might leave Mushekwi from the final squad as it might not be easy for the club to lose him at a time they are battling with crucial matches.

Mushekwi missed the Warriors last assignment at home against Malawi in June.

However, he was part of the team in the back-to-back clashes against Swaziland in Mbabane and Harare in March.

The big striker is now the League One top goalscorer with 19 goals from 23 appearances at a time his club is fighting to finish as one of the top two teams for promotion to the top-flight league.

Mushekwi's club Dalian Yifang are in fifth place, five points behind the leaders Tianjin Quanjian with seven rounds of matches left.

Most of the club's fixtures involve the top teams and on September 3, the same day the Warriors would be in action in West Africa, his team would be up against sixth placed Beijing Renhe.

On September 11 they will meet fourth-placed Xinjiang Tianshan before they play leaders Tianjin Quanjin on September 17.

They will then face second-placed Guizhou Zhicheng on September 25

On Sunday, Mushekwi scored a hattrick to celebrate his birthday in style as he starred in his team's 4-3 victory over Shanghai Shenxin.

It was the third match on the trot in which he has scored.

He overtook Brazilian national Luis Fabiano, who is now the league's second best scorer, with 16 goals from 23 games.

The 29-year-old is one of the three African strikers at the club.

According to the league's quota system, clubs can register three foreign players per season and they can also use three foreigners in each match.

Source - the herald