Winger Mohammed Bajaber, 22, has been ruled out after signing a two-year deal with Tanzanian giants Simba SC. Bajaber, formerly of Nairobi City Stars and most recently with Kenya Police FC - whom he helped to their first-ever KPL title - was being monitored by Simba since June.
He trained alone in Cairo last week due to a minor injury, and despite his rich form, CHAN regulations barring foreign-based players make him ineligible.
McCarthy is also without the 2024/2025 KPL top scorers, Moses Shumma and Emmanuel Osoro.
Shumma, who netted 17 goals for Kakamega Homeboyz, and Osoro, who scored 16 for relegated Talanta FC, both recently joined Zambian side Power Dynamos, ruling them out of the tournament.
To fill the void, McCarthy has called up Edward 'Ondimo' Omondi of Sofapaka and Brian Michira of Shabana FC to bolster his forward options.
They join a restructured CHAN-eligible attacking unit including Masud Juma, Felix Oluoch, Ryan Ogam, David Sakwa, Boniface Muchiri, and Austin Odongo.
Kenya national team head coach Benni McCarthy says his experience under manager Jose Mourinho at FC Porto inspired the Harambee Stars' resilient 1-0 victory over Morocco.
Kenya coach Benni McCarthy has urged his side to be disciplined from the first minute of their upcoming 2024 CHAN group stage match against Morocco.
Kenya national team head coach Benni McCarthy has set his sights on winning the 2025 African Nations Championship (CHAN), despite a challenging start to his tenure.
Kenya's Harambee Stars have officially commenced their training camp ahead of the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN), which will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania this August.
