Harambee Stars defender Brian Mandela will undergo surgery on his knee in France on Wednesday.
Mandela will then join his teammates on Thursday in Cairo as they prepare to kick-off their Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) campaign on June 23. The experienced player is expected to play a motivational role behind the scenes for his teammates.
Mandela suffered a Meniscus tear during Harambee Stars camp in Paris, France that subsequently ruled him out of the tournament. Head coach Sebastien Migne accepted Mandela's injury and claimed it was a huge blow for him and the team.
“It is a huge problem for us because he is a key player, but remember against Ghana (in the qualifiers) we won without key players. It is always a problem for the coach but we will try to find a solution," the French coach told the Football Kenya Federation's website.
Migne is already sweating over the fitness of his defensive duo of Musa Mohamed and Erick Ouma as he readies his charges to face Algeria in the Afcon opener.
Bernard Ochieng, Joseph Okumu, David Owino and Joash Onyango are the centre-backs available for Migne as Kenya are set to face Group C teams Senegal, Algeria and Tanzania.
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