Why Wanyama, Omollo will miss Stars friendly in Maputo

What you need to know:

  • Okumbi has called up a team of 50 players in the last five days, including 15 foreign-based.

Harambee Stars captain Victor Wanyama has withdrawn from the Mozambique friendly match set for September 2 in Maputo.

Belgium-based midfielder Johanna 'Tosh' Omollo has also asked to be excluded from the team to allow him time to settle down and fight for a starting role at his new club Cercle Brugge.

“Victor’s coach reached out to me and asked me to allow the player to remain in England because he hasn’t been in good shape. He picked up an injury in the third week of preseason and hasn’t recovered well,” said Okumbi.

Concerning the fate of goalkeeper Arnold Origi, who is reported to have acquired a Norwegian passport and is therefore a doubt for the assignment, Okumbi said that he is yet to get proper confirmation from the federation.

“Both the federation and Origi are following up on that situation. I have spoken with Origi and he has told me that he is trying to see whether or not he can be able to come for the match,” he said.

Okumbi has called up a team of 50 players in the last five days, including 15 foreign-based.

Both local and foreign based players are expected to report at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies this Sunday where they will be split into two teams.

The senior team will travel to Mozambique on August 31 for the international friendly under the guidance of head coach Okumbi, while the reserve team will be under assistant coaches Frank Ouna and Musa Otieno, and will fly to Morocco on August 29 to engage Mauritania and Togo in separate friendly matches.