Bright Stars sweat over injury concerns ahead of CAF crunch tie

Bright Stars suffered a setback in the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign after posting triple injuries.

The South Sudan Football Association broke the saddening news of the setback on its Facebook page yesterday.

“Three of our players got injured during the defeat to Congo. Defender Sarfino Lado got a head injury. Bul Anyang has a minor foot injury but is in good condition; and striker Felix Abishai is nursing a hand injury,” the South Sudan Football Association (SSFA) Page reported.

U-20 coach Peter James Wani expressed fears that the injury setback could roil the campaigns of the youngsters, who long for a breakthrough in the next matches to keep their AFCON dreams alive.

The junior Bright Stars were defeated 2-1 by Congo in their AFCON Group B opener, leaving them tied for last place with the Central African Republic.

With 2-1 victories, Uganda and Congo both came out on top in the first game, collecting a total of three points. The two will now face off in the second game.

Bright Stars will be looking for their first victory in the competition against Central African Republic on Thursday, February 23, 2023.

It was unclear when they would return, but even if not soon, Wani will now need to replace the injured trio in the starting lineup with new players.

Remember, forward Abishai gave the only assist for the Pual Mara to score that goal in their 2-1 defeat against the Congolese side.

They will need to win their upcoming matches against the Central African Republic in order to maintain their hopes of moving on to the next round.

Of course, the Bright Stars are undoubtedly superior to the Central African Republic on paper, but they must put a lot of effort into making that claim a reality.