Gilberto Out for World Cup

Any tiny sliver of hope that Gilberto would be fit for the World Cup appears to be gone after Tuesdays comments by coach Luis Oliveira Goncalves. He said that he does not expect Gilberto to recover in time from the Achilles tendon injury he sustained during training for the African Cup of Nations in January. I didn’t think he was going to make it back in time and this only contributes to what is turning out to be a rather depressing week of Palancas news. To sum:

1. Pedro Emanuel and Chainho might not be able to play for Angola because they played for Portugal as youth.

2. Forward Maurito is gone for six months with a ligament injury.

3. Gilberto, my favorite player, will almost certainly miss the World Cup.

The bad news is that it is still only Tuesday!