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in their make-or-break 2012 Nations Cup qualifier against Mali.
The Warriors have a must-win date against the Eagles at Rufaro next Sunday.
Benjani retired from international football after the Nations Cup qualifier against Cape Verde at the National Sports Stadium and was unavailable for the trip to Mali.
But the England-based forward, who is set to extend his stay at Blackburn Rovers, wants to be in Harare to cheer his teammates.
Barcelona midfielder Seydou Keita and Sevilla forward Fredrick Kanoute were in Bamako to cheer the Eagles ahead of their Nations Cup tie against Zimbabwe.
Keita was not considered for that game, as he weighed his options, while Kanoute has retired from international football.
Benjani wants to play a similar role for the Warriors, having already indicated that he was willing to be their ambassador.
“I will be in Harare, hopefully, by next Thursday and I will be with the boys for their big match against Mali which they need to win,” said Benjani yesterday.
“It’s important that we support them and I think my presence will give them a boost.
“They need to know that everyone is behind them and I’m confident that if they play well they can win and turn around our campaign.”
The Warriors are expected to troop into camp from Sunday but Quincy Antipas and Ovidy Karuru are expected to join camp late as their clubs are involved in matches this weekend. Warriors’ general manager Shariff Mussa was confident yesterday that the majority of the players will heed the call to report for national duty early.
Zimbabwe are set to prepare for the crunch tie by holding the first training session on Monday morning without Antipas and Karuru.
Karuru plays for French side Boulgone while Antipas is with Danish side Sonderjyske Haderslev.
“We are expecting all the players to start checking in on Sunday evening around 7pm so that we start the preparations on Monday. So far we have not received any feedback from players who are likely to pull out save for Costa Nhamoinesu.
“We have since replaced Costa with (Zhaimu) Jambo,” said Mussa.
Mussa expects most of the foreign based players to be home this weekend.
“I am sure some of the players are now around but we understand that Ovidy and Quincy have matches with their teams on Saturday, so they could be travelling on Sunday and arriving on Monday. But we have not yet received any other excuses for the other players,” said Mussa.
Warriors’ coach Norman Mapeza will only have a week to prepare for the crucial match.
His hopes of a two-week camp was derailed by the financial challenges facing Zifa and the unavailability of some key players. Zimbabwe lost 1-0 to Mali in Bamako in March and need nothing short of win to rescue their campaign for the 2012 African Nations Cup. The Eagles of Mali are set to arrive in South Africa on Monday to acclimatise with the conditions in Southern Africa and coach Alain Giresse says he is bracing for a tough battle. According to a report in the Malian newspaper L’Essor, Giresse was expected to announce the 23 players who will travel to South Africa yesterday.
He was not expected to name Barcelona player Keita in his travelling team as the player has been ruled out of selection.
Meanwhile, hotshot striker Knowledge Musona is set to go for trials with Bundesliga side TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. The Super Diski Golden Boot winner is set to depart after the Warriors tie.