Harare — AMAZULU midfielder Ronald Sibanda has bounced back into the Zimbabwe side after serving his suspension and will now be considered for the Warriors' World Cup and African Cup of Nations qualifier against Algeria on June 19.

The Warriors, third in Group Four, are expected to make the long trip to Algeria for a date with the Desert Foxes in a game that has been pencilled in a city called Oran, 400 km outside the capital, Algiers.

Sibanda, a gifted midfielder who, however, struggles to match his talents with discipline, was slapped with a one match-ban and a $1 million fine by the Warriors technical department after reporting late for camp in April.

The former Zimbabwe Saints midfielder had been named captain of the Warriors' locally-based contingent and had been expected to lead the senior team during the Cosafa Castle Cup quarter-final round-robin matches in Windhoek, Namibia on April 16 and 17.

But after failing to turn up by the deadline for which the coaches had set on the players to report for duty, Sibanda and Eiffel Wildcats striker Joel Mutepfa, who was also late, were thrown out of the squad.

Because of his senior position and the fact that he was not a first offender it was Sibanda, who was expected to show exemplary behaviour, who naturally came out with a stiffer penalty.

However, Warriors coach Charles Mhlauri revealed yesterday that he had recalled the Amazulu captain into the squad and was expecting him to join his teammates when the senior team resumes camp tomorrow.

"I had always said the suspension was for one match while we reviewed Ronald's situation and I have also since spoken to his manager (Felix Matsika) and he is one of the few local players who should report for camp on Wednesday," said Mhlauri.

Sibanda's suspension meant that he missed Zimbabwe's clash against Gabon at the National Sports Stadium last Sunday in which the Warriors ground out a vital 1-0 win courtesy of a second half penalty by skipper Peter Ndlovu.

Mhlauri will also welcome back defensive rock Zvenyika Makonese, who sat out the tie against Gabon but for a different suspension.

Although he had been training with the Warriors since last Monday when they began their camp, Makonese had picked up two yellow cards in the campaign and was suspended for the match against Gabon.

AJ Auxerre striker Benjani Mwaruwari, also returns to the fold after missing Sunday's game as he had been involved in club commitments in which he inspired his side to a 2-1 French Cup final win over Sedan on Saturday night during which he scored the opener for the Burgundy outfit.

The Warriors will, however, still be without Moroka Swallows midfielder Edzai Kasinauyo who is still nursing an ankle injury sustained while playing for his South African Premiership side.

Kasinauyo is, according to team manager Enerst Sibanda, still undergoing physiotherapy and had been given at least 10 days to recuperate, effectively ruling him out of the trip to the North African country.

Mhlauri said he would know by tomorrow, the fate of German-based midfielder Farai Mbidzo whom he said failed to turn up for camp before the match against Gabon after being caught in a club versus country row.

"I should know by tomorrow or Wednesday the final position with regards to Farai because he was playing in a promotional play-off on June 4 for a place in the Second Division.

"Although his club had cleared him fearing Fifa sanctions, they had threatened not to renew his contract if the team got promoted and that forced him to play in that decider so I would have to check whether they secured the promotion and whether he is now able to come," said Mhlauri.

But away from the Mbidzo saga, in which the former CAPS United midfielder has literally played hide and seek with previous Warriors call-ups, Mhlauri also revealed that he had trimmed the squad that would resume preparations tomorrow, dropping the majority of the locally-based players who had been in camp last week.

"We have trimmed down the squad and we will only have Ronald Sibanda, Sageby Sandaka, Tapuwa Kapini, James Matola, Cephas Chimedza and Brian Badza when we resume camp.

"For now, we will work with the trimmed squad and that means the Premiership programme will not be affected by our camp this week. I have asked the clubs to allow these six local players to train with the national team although they will be released for their respective games."

Mhlauri said he was still working on a programme to be followed by the Warriors' foreign legion at the weekend following the failure to confirm an international friendly.

"We do not have an international friendly lined up before we travel to Algeria because the South Africans refused to play us so we are still working on a programme of what we will be doing over the weekend."

The Warriors coach, in acknowledging that his team had played badly, said he was still happy that they managed to garner a victory, "which is what matters most in this campaign".

"Of course we didn't play well but I am happy that we won which is the most important thing.

"With all the five changes we made to the team which beat Angola, I am happy with the outcome and I am also happy that we are building a team that does not rely on one or two individuals.

"Even Benjy (Mwaruwari) came in just before the match and was keen on playing but we felt we could not risk him by playing him.

"Gabon had two of their players who landed at the same time with Benjy and they fielded them but I understand they had problems in their camp over the issue and that some players nearly exchanged blows," Mhlauri said.

The Warriors coach, however, said he had noted that Gabon were also a good side that deserved respect.

"Gabon are a good side and worth respecting and in terms of experience, they have been to the Nations Cup three times and they also have a seasoned coach but I will not read much into that.

"I think what is important is to keep working on improving on our shortcomings and getting a lot of combinations to work and we started this programme when we travelled to Namibia for the Cosafa games," said Mhlauri.