Harambee Stars captain Victor Wanyama has flown back to London after he suffered a knee injury in Tottenham Hotspur US pre-season training.
His club manager Mauricio Pochetino confirmed that his midfielder is already in London to see a doctor and assess the severity of the injury. Last season, Wanyama missed four months of action due to a troublesome knee injury that also occurred before the start of last season.
“Victor is back in London because he needs to see the doctor there and assess in the next few days and see what happened,” Pochettino is quoted by The Daily Mail.
Wanyama did not play in the 5-3 shoot-out defeat to Barcelona. Pochetino could be staring into a midfield crisis as Moussa Sissoko also limped off against the Catalans.
‘We’ll assess tomorrow, the next few days to see what happened. We hope it’s a minor injury but he feels his hamstring.” Pochetino said.
Wanyama signed for Premier League side Southampton for a fee claimed to be £12.5 million, making him the first Kenyan to ever play in the Premier League.
He made his debut on 17 August 2013, in 1–0 away win against West Bromwich Albion. Wanyama made 24 appearances in his first season, but injuries hindered his efforts to make much of an impact in the team.
He made his debut on 17 August 2013, in 1–0 away win against West Bromwich Albion. Wanyama made 24 appearances in his first season, but injuries hindered his efforts to make much of an impact in the team.
Under new manager Ronald Koeman, Wanyama came into his own in the 2014–15 season. He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 league victory over Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on 20 September 2014, after replacing James Ward-Prowse in the 69th minute.
His next goal came in an 8–0 trouncing of Sunderland on 19 October 2014. Wanyama would score his third goal for the Saints in spectacular fashion, a 40-yard shot after Eldin Jakupović’s poor clearance fell straight to him, in what proved to be the only goal in a win over Hull City.
His performances saw him awarded the league’s African Player of the Month for September, with him stating “It is wonderful being recognised as someone who has done well for his club
Wanyama joined Spurs in June 2016 signing a five-year contract for a fee of £11 million. Wanyama had previously worked with Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino who brought him to Southampton in July 2013.
Wanyama scored his first goal for the club on his home debut against Crystal Palace, in the 82nd minute of a 1–0 league win for Spurs. The goal made him the 138th different player to score for the club, extending its record for the most variety of goalscorers for a single club in the Premier League.
Early in the 2017–18 season, Wanyama injured his knee in the match against Chelsea and was sidelined for over four months. He returned to training in mid-December. On 2 January 2018, he made his first appearance after his injury, as a substitute in the away match against Swansea City.
Wanyama became the first ever Kenyan player to score in the UEFA Champions League when he scored the first goal in Celtic
‘s 2–1 win over Barcelona on 7 November 2012. On 11 July 2013, Wanyama moved to Premier League club Southampton for £12.5 million making him the most expensive player sold by a Scottish club, surpassing the £9.5 million Russian club Spartak Moscow paid for Aiden McGeady in 2010.
He has earned over 40 caps for the Kenyan national team since making his international debut in May 2007 at the age of 15.Wanyama attended Kamukunji High School, which fields a successful football team. Upon leaving High School, he also played with JMJ Academy for three years during which time he also joined Kenyan Premier League clubs Nairobi City Stars and AFC Leopards.