Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana will miss his country’s opening match with Guinea in the 2023 AFCON after opting to play for Manchester United in their Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur a day before.
ESPN source revealed that the goalkeeper was given permission by the Cameroonian FA to skip a warm-up camp in Saudi Arabia to feature for United against Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup on Monday but The goalkeeper is set to delay his departure even further to play against Tottenham at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The Cameroon Federation has accepted he is unlikely to be available for their first AFCON group game against Guinea on Jan. 15 but will be available to play in the final two games in Group C against Senegal on Jan. 19 and Gamba on Jan. 23.
He will miss United’s FA Cup fourth-round tie against either Newport County or Eastleigh on the weekend of Jan. 27-28 and could remain with Cameroon until Feb. 11 if they were to reach the final of the tournament, which is being held in Ivory Coast.
Onana, 27, had walked out on Cameroon after a row with coach Rigobert Song at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar but returned following reconciliation talks between the pair.
However, he was retired from international football when he joined United from Inter Milan in July, and his potential absence for up to four weeks depending on how far Cameroon progresses, has come as a blow to the English club.
Erik Ten Hag’s Manchester United side started the new year on a high by beating Wigan Athletic 2-0 on Monday. They will now hope to build on their momentum and get a positive result against Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
