Uganda Cranes striker Muhammad Shaban will miss the game against South Africa in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, FUFA has confirmed.
Shaban sustained a knock in the Cranes’ last training on Thursday ruling him out of the Orlando Stadium bout on Friday.
In his absence, head coach Paul Joseph Put has given the mantle to look for the goals upfront to the red-hot Denis Omedi.
The two strikers were on target when Al Hilal SC, Benghazi and Kitara met in the first round of the CAF Confederation Cup preliminaries.
Shaban scored in the first leg for Benghazi whereas Omedi netted in both legs as the Libyan side eliminated the Royals 6-4 on aggregate.
Besides Omedi, Villa’s midfielder Ronald Ssekiganda is the other Uganda Premier League player named in the Cranes’ starting lineup.
He maintains his place in the starting lineup partnering captain Khalid Aucho who is returning to the team having missed the games against Botswana and Algeria in the World Cup qualifiers.
Defender Bevis Mugabi is the other player who has returned straight to the eleven and it will be the first time that he plays alongside Elio Carpradosi in center-back.