Harambee Stars goalkeeper Brian Bwire is recovering from the nasty cut he received during the national team's friendly clash versus Burundi yesterday afternoon, that forced him to be stretchered off just five minutes into the match.
Bwire's injury, a deep cut above his eye was the catalyst for Burundi forward Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana to be sent off after just five minutes, after he lunged in for a loose a loose ball in the event, hurting the South African top flight side, Polokwane City's goalkeeper.
The Burundi man was adjudged by centre referee Hillary Hambaba to have made a reckless tackle, leaving him no option other than to send the former Kaizer Chiefs striker off.
Stars head coach Benni McCarthy, speaking on the incident, was clear that it was a bad challenge and needed to be punished. McCarthy was not in any mood to be kind to his counterparts following the match.
“In the first minute, your goalkeeper is already receiving medical attention for a five-inch cut above his eye; that’s very dangerous,” said the South African coach.
“As a striker, yes, you go for the ball, but when you see you can’t win it, why still put your foot there? You don’t endanger the goalkeeper like that.”
The Harambee Stars boss admitted that losing his goalkeeper so early disrupted their rhythm and made his players more cautious as a result.
“When you lose your goalkeeper in the first minute of the game, it becomes extra tough because my players were reserved after that; they didn’t want to risk further injuries,” McCarthy added.
It is not yet clear whether Bwire will take part in Tuesday's clash with the Ivory Coast in Abidjan, the last of Kenya's 2026 World Cup qualifiers campaign.