Today's Headlines
- Two Exhibitions Are On At Ramoma, Nairobi
- Country to Review Tourism Law
- Econet Wireless Finally Rolls Out
- Odinga Warns of Civil Unrest
- Mulee Rules Out Harambee Stars U-Turn
- Taking Up a Women's Agenda
- More Than 6,000 Christian Youth Converge for Prayers
- Catholic Church Outraged By MPs' Refusal to Pay Tax
- Pope Benedict Praying for Release of Abducted Nuns
- Thousands Flee Amid Fears of Border Clashes
- Malaria Rates Plummet Among Children
- Winning Against HIV Stigma Behind Bars
- First Congress of Federation of African Journalists a Historic Milestone, Says IFJ
- Archbishop Lele Urges State to Act as Food Crisis Bites
- Regional Workshop Focus Border Management, Irregular Migration
- Silverbird Acquires Kenya's Nu Metro, Starts Operations in Ghana
- Raila is Evil, Says Minister
- Man Charged With Abduction of Two Catholic Sisters
- UN Censures State On Torture
- Agencies Seek $390 Million to Offset Climate And Food Risks
- UN-Backed Scheme Gives 3,000 Prisoners Clean Water and Sanitation
- Samosa Festival is On in Nairobi
- Heartstrings in Another Comedy
- Govts, Investors Engage RVR in Rail Bid
- Mwangi Replaces Mwebesa At NSE
- Riepa Hosts Business Association
- ICTR Petitions UN for Arrest of Kabuga
- UBA to Invest SH360 Billion in Kenya
- Free Movement of People Too, Not Just Goods and Capital
- Judges Running Out of Money?
This Day (Lagos)
September 2, 2008
News Article By Tunde Sulaiman
While the bulk of the Super Eagles players will be heading to various airports to catch flights to South Africa today ahead of Saturday's World Cup/Nations Cup qualifier, two players who will not be heading to Johannesburg are Nwankwo Kanu and Joseph Yobo.
While Yobo is out due to injury, Kanu has been prevented from taking part in the clash with the Bafana Bafana by his Premiership club Portsmouth, which has embargoed the journey.
THISDAYSports reliably learnt that the gangling striker had his request to join his colleagues on the almost 11 hour flight to Johannesburg politely rejected by the Fratton Park outfit.
It is believed that Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp is aware that the outcome of the Group IV match will have no bearing on the Eagles who have already qualified for the final round of the South Africa/Angola 2010 race following their four successive victories in the series.
Apparently the Pompey boss feels that rather than allow his striker make the long journey to Johannesburg for what in all intents and purposes is a meaningless match, he would rather have Kanu stay behind to further work on regaining his match fitness after recovering from the knee injury he picked up during Portsmouth's visit to Nigeria last month.
Kanu, who starred alongside Fratton Park colleague John Utaka, in the 5-0 win over Globacom Premier League champions Kano Pillars in Abuja, picked up the injury after colliding with the Pillars' goalkeeper.
The injury has so far kept the former Arsenal star out of Portsmouth's Premiership campaign. He returned to action last night in a friendly against fulham in which he scored in the 3-1 win.It was Kanu's first competitive match since his injury.
The Nigerian watched from the stands over the weekend as Pompey bounced back from their poor start to the season with a comprehensive 3-0 demolition of Everton at Goodison Park.
Yobo on his part, ruled himself out of Saturday's match claiming he picked up an injury in the loss to Portsmouth over the weekend.
However, other England-based players expected to depart for South Africa today include Yakubu Aiyegbeni, who both starred in Saturday's Pompey horror show, John Utaka, Danny Shittu and Seyi Olofinjana.
The match comes up at the Telkom Park Stadium in Port Elizabeth, starting at 3pm local time (2pm Nigeria time).
