Football Kenya Federation president Nick Mwendwa has insisted it is the responsibility of clubs to treat injured players whenever they are out of national teams.
Mwendwa says it was not their duty to treat injured Gor Mahia defender Philemon Otieno, saying the federation played their part when the player was in camp with the Harambee Stars for the Chan qualifier against Tanzania.
“We treated [Philemon Otieno] when he reported to camp for the Tanzania match because he came with the injury and it was the reason he missed the first leg away,” Mwendwa told Goal.
“He was put under the doctor’s watch who kept treating him and it was the coach who said he was fit to play in the return leg. As a federation, we are not running away from responsibilities but we are putting things the way they are supposed to be.”
Asked on why the federation treated defender Brian Mandela, who was injured while the team was camping in France, Mwendwa said: “For [Mandela] it was a different case, it was a long camp and the injury happened while he was in camp during the Afcon campaign.
“Is [Philemon] the only player to have been injured while in camp with the national team, do you know how many players we have treated before?
“[Otieno] is not a straight forward player, we asked him to wait until we get money and take him to hospital but he decided to go to social media. He thinks social media will help him, we told him we don’t have money, so why can’t he wait?
“The club [Gor Mahia] should have helped him me, he plays for the club, most matches he plays are for the club and not the national team.
“Have you ever seen a player from Arsenal after getting injured while playing for the national team, going back to the national team for treatment? When a player leaves national team then it is the work of his club to treat the player, not the national team.”
Mwendwa also pointed out the federation had treated Zesco United striker Jesse Were, who got injured in camp before the team played a friendly against Uganda.
“We have treated so many players, even [Were] recently, we worked on him medically,” Mwendwa continued.
“We are not pointing fingers, he never played in the first leg [against Tanzania] because he was injured, we worked on him when he was in camp and used him in the return leg, but the club should also play their part.”
