Benni McCarthy Sweating Over Fitness of Michael Olunga, 2 Other Key Players Ahead of Burundi, Ivory Coast

Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy has revealed that captain Michael Olunga and two other key players are nursing injury concerns ahead of Kenya’s final two 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Burundi and Ivory Coast this week.

Kenya will face Burundi on Thursday in Bujumbura before wrapping up their Group F campaign against Ivory Coast in Abidjan on October 14.

 Both matches are effectively dead rubbers, with Kenya already out of contention for qualification, but McCarthy is still eager to finish strongly — though his preparations have been complicated by fitness worries for three starters.

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Speaking during a media briefing, McCarthy confirmed that Olunga, Rooney Onyango, and Alpha Onyango were all under close medical assessment after picking up issues while on club duty.

“Some slight injury problems, but hopefully by the time we get to Burundi, we would have assessed and seen the levels the players are at,” McCarthy said.

“Rooney Onyango was struggling with a little problem at his club, but he’s done the scans and all the medical testing that was needed, and everything checked out okay. We’ll monitor him during training leading up to the game.”

On Olunga, McCarthy explained that the Qatar-based striker had been managing a minor hamstring concern, but insisted there was no major reason for alarm. 

“The captain also had some concerns with his hamstring,” he said. “It’s just three days to go, so we want to give him as much training under his belt as possible and see how he feels when we get closer to the match.”

The third concern involves Alpha Onyango, who was withdrawn as a precaution in Gor Mahia’s last match. “He came off, so we’ll check during the training sessions and see how we can manage him. But everybody else is 100 percent fit,” McCarthy added.

Kenya’s clash with Burundi will kick off Thursday evening in Bujumbura, with the squad expected to travel to Abidjan over the weekend for their final group encounter against the African champions, Ivory Coast.