Henk Botha, the coach of Namibian female sprinter Christine Mboma, said the injuries sustained by the athlete are not as bad as previously thought.

Updating the media on Tuesday, Botha said Mboma sustained an injury on Saturday while competing in the 2022 Kip Keino Classic World Continental Tour in Nairobi, Kenya, but after assessments by their physiotherapist they found out that she tore a muscle in the upper thigh and not a groin injury as was reported earlier.

“Christine tore a muscle on the upper thigh and this was caused by a problem with the growth plate in her left hip,” said Botha, who stated that the problem can be rectified through rehabilitation.

He added that her participation at the African Athletics Championships and the World Athletics Championships will only be known after her rehabilitation in South Africa.

“I would like to inform you that Beatrice Masilingi’s rehabilitation is ahead of what was expected but as for Christine, we will only know in the next 10 days,” he said.

Botha echoed that the athletes are currently in good spirits, even though Mboma will be staying in Johannesburg to go through the rehabilitation process, while Masilingi will be heading back home.

“I hope by the time Christine is done with her rehabilitation, hopefully by that time Beatrice will be ready to take on the track and we hope by the time of the African Champs and World Champs, both of them will be back on the track,” said Botha.

The Confederation of African Athletics (CAA), the continental association for the sport in Africa has proposed the dates of 02 to 06 June 2022 for the African Athletics Championships, to be held in the city of Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Meanwhile, the 18th edition of the World Athletics Championships is scheduled for Eugene, Oregon, the United States of America from 15 to 24 July 2022.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency