Uganda Cranes have been hit by news of skipper Andy Mwesigwa injuring his ankle in a league match on Saturday.
The FC Ordabasy defender twisted his ankle when he leapt high and landed awkwardly as his side lost 3-1 to FC Astana in a Kazakhstan Premier League game.
A sprained ankle takes about one to six weeks to heal depending on the severity of the injury and Cranes coach Micho Sredojevic and Ugandans will pray Mwesigwa recovers in time for September 7’s World Cup qualifying decider against Senegal in Marrakesh, Morocco.
The extent of Mwesigwa’s injury is not yet known and Ugandans will anxiously wait for results of a scan due Monday.
“I jumped high and landed badly on my heel and twisted it,” said Mwesigwa in an interview with SuperSport.com, “But I played till the end because we had used up all the subs.
The defender would not, however, wear shoes after the match and he was still applying ice long after the game.
The last time Mwesigwa missed Uganda’s qualification of any major senior event was in 2007, the Cranes beating Nigeria 2-1 at Namboole. Mwesigwa was serving a suspension at the time.