Warriors talisman Knowledge Musona has joined camp while talented forward Khama Billiat has now been ruled out of Zimbabwe’s opening 2019 Total African Nations Cup qualifier against Liberia with indications from South Africa that his club Mamelodi Sundowns have made a U-turn and will not release him and “risk aggravating his injury’’.

The Warriors broke camp last Thursday to allow locally-based players to do duty for their clubs over the weekend, but preparations will go full throttle from Monday up to match day next weekend.

“Musona is in the country; he arrived last night (Saturday) and most players will be in camp this evening (last night) ahead of the resumption of our training camp,” said Warriors manager Wellington Mpandare.

While Musona’s availability has been welcomed by the technical team, its Billiat’s availability which continues to be clouded by uncertainty that has left the warriors without one of their most influential players

Billiat has been battling to regain fitness following an ankle injury that also saw him miss out on Sundowns’ last two Champions League assignments against AS Vita of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tunisia’s Esperance.

The defending African club champions who lost 2-1 to Esperance of Tunisia at home on Friday slumped into third place in group C on four points behind leaders Esperance with seven points and Ethiopian debutants St George on five. 

It is against this background that Sundowns are understood to have decided against taking any further risks with Billiat’s injury and reportedly opted to hold onto the player despite an earlier pledge by the Brazilians to release the forward to the Warriors this week.

Sources close to the goings on at Sundowns said late last night that the Brazilians had declined to release Billiat and allow the 26-year-old forward a chance to travel to Harare and be assessed by the Warriors medical crew.

Zimbabwe are in Group G of the qualifiers with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia and Congo Brazzaville.

After the June 11 clash against Liberia in Harare, the Warriors’ next assignment in the qualifiers will be a trip to Congo Brazzaville on March 23, 2018, before they play the DRC twice in September of the same year.

The Warriors will then visit Liberia on October 12 before winding up their qualifying campaign with a home tie against Congo Brazzaville on November 9, 2018.

The group winner will qualify for the finals set for Cameroon in 2019, while the runner-up can also qualify if they are among the three best runners-up.