Chiefs striker in international task despite injury concerns

Flavio Silva’s injury issues at Kaizer Chiefs for the past month have come out as no deterrent for his latest call-up to the Guinea-Bissau national team.

Silva only made his international debut in March in a 5-0 hammering by Burkina Faso just days before he turned 30.

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National team call-up despite limited game time

Guinea-Bissau coach Emiliano Té has again put his faith in Kaizer Chiefs striker Flavio Silva ahead of the start of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers, despite the forward's limited involvement at club level this season.

Silva has only played 45 minutes this season, with a return of one goal. That single appearance came on August 1 against Kruger United, and since then he has not featured in the last four matches.

Still not ready for full training

The striker wasn't involved in full-contact training on Wednesday during the club's media day, keeping his sessions to the gym instead. This website spotted him walking to the gymnasium prior to the rest of the squad heading down to the field for training.

Chiefs coach Fernando Da Cruz then indicated that Silva will still need another week or two before he is available to play again, meaning he could miss some or all of Amakhosi's upcoming fixtures against Siwelele FC (September 6), Polokwane City (September 12) and Golden Arrows (September 19) before the next FIFA dates.

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Guinea-Bissau's qualifying campaign

For Guinea-Bissau, they will get their Group L campaign of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers underway against Tanzania away on September 25 before hosting Nigeria four days later. The West Africans are taking aim at qualification after missing the last tournament in Morocco, having previously been to four consecutive editions.

Silva was born in Guinea-Bissau before relocating to Portugal, but has always been monitored by the Federação de Futebol da Guiné-Bissau — even before he signed for Chiefs. Despite his lack of minutes at Naturena, Té clearly values the forward's quality and experience at international level.

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Afcon 2027 qualifiers Betway Premiership Flavio Da Silva Guinea-bissau Kaizer Chiefs