Zambia give up on injured Mulenga

Zambia have given up hope Dutch-based striker Jacob Mulenga will recover in time from injury and left him out of their preliminary squad for next month's African Nations Cup finals.



Mulenga suffered a knee injury in action for FC Utrecht in October but Zambia were hopeful he would return after surgery in time for the tournament in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, which starts on January 21.



However, coach Herve Renard has confirmed Mulenga's recovery would take longer than expected and that he would miss the Nations Cup for a second successive time.



Striker Jonas Sakuwaha had been recalled to the squad, which will be cut to 23 from 28 on January 10, officials said.



Zambia began preparations in Johannesburg on Wednesday and play a warm-up against South Africa in Pretoria on January 11.



At the Nations Cup, Zambia compete in Group A along with co-hosts Equatorial Guinea, Libya and Senegal.