By GWEN CHIPASULA –
STRIKER Winston Kalengo is a major doubt for the Rwanda 2016 African Nations Championship (CHAN) tournament.
Kalengo, who bagged the 2015 Zambian Player-of-the-year, Top scorer and Disciplined player awards during the MTN-FAZ awards, has been excused from the Chipolopolo camp as he pursues his dream of joining a foreign club.
The Zesco United player is yet to join the Chipolopolo who regrouped on December 1 ahead of the CHAN tournament that starts on January 16 to February 7.
Kalengo is believed to be trying his luck with a Congo Brazzaville club while other reports have linked the striker, who scored six goals for Zambia in 12 games, with a move to Sudan club El Merreikh.
Chipolopolo team manager, Lusekelo Kamwambi said in an interview after the team’s training session at Independence Stadium yesterday that Kalengo has been excused to enable him sort out his personal issues concerning his career.
Kamwambi said the technical bench has not ruled out Kalengo and will wait until the very last minute before making a decision on the lethal striker.
He said the technical bench will do everything possible to make the player available for the tournament should his intended move fail especially that he was instrumental in the qualifiers.
“Kalengo will be with us when he is done with what he is doing hopefully. It is very important to him because it is something to do with his career so we would not want to disturb that. But once he is done he will join us but for now he cannot because he is still held up,” he said.
Kamwambi said defender, Steven Kabamba has been drafted into the Chipolopolo and that he was expected to join his colleagues once he is released by Green Buffaloes.

• CHIPOLOPOLO midfielder Isaac Chansa gets away from Nathan Sinkala during a training session at Independence Stadium in Lusaka yesterday. Picture by GWEN CHIPASULA

Meanwhile, Chipolopolo and TP Mazembe midfielder Nathan Sinkala took time off his season break to train with the CHAN squad.
Kamwambi said Sinkala, who is ineligible for the CHAN, was just training as a way of keeping fit and also help motivate the locally based players as he was an experienced player.
Meanwhile, NewsDay reports that Zimbabwe captain Danny “Deco” Phiri is doubtful for the CHAN tournament owing to injury.
The reigning Zimbabwe Castle Lager Footballer of the Year who guided his club, Chicken Inn, to their maiden championship this season is struggling with a swollen ankle.
He failed to finish the training session conducted on Sunday morning and also sat out the afternoon training session with Warriors coach Kalisto Pasuwa saying his captain was now doubtful to make it to Rwanda.
The Warriors coach also revealed that Highlanders defender Teenage Hadebe had been excused from camp to attend to his sick mother and is also another doubt to make it to the tournament.
Goalkeeper Takabva Mawaya is also in the treatment room, carrying a shoulder injury and needs further assessments by the doctor to ascertain the extent of the injury.
The Warriors, who are in Group D together with perennial rivals Zambia, West Africans Mali and East African football kings Uganda, will be based in the border town of Gisenyi.