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ZAMBIA’S lead striker Emmanuel Mayuka is set to return to Southampton this week after a double groin injury effectively ruled him out of the African Nations Cup in another blow to his country’s hopes, officials said yesterday.

Mayuka, who has played just 49 minutes of Southampton’s impressive Premier League run this season, hurt himself on Thursday when Zambia lost their second group game in Ebibeyin to Tunisia.

It followed a knee injury to key midfield Nathan Sinkala in their first game — a 1-1 draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo — that ruled the Grasshoppers Zurich player out of the rest of the tournament in Equatorial Guinea.

Zambia, the 2012 winners, need victory in their last Group B match against Cape Verde today to stand any chance of advancing to the weekend’s quarter-finals. — SuperSport