JUSTIN Mico remains a major doubt for Sunday’s Fifa U-17 World Cup opener against England.

The Junior Wasps’ striker set the alarm bells ringing when he hobbled out of Monday’s friendly against Panama (1-1) after spraining his right knee.

After being assessed by the team’s physiotherapist Patrick Rutamu yesterday, head coach Richard Tardy is keeping his fingers crossed.

"News from the physio is refreshing. The injury is not as serious as first feared but he certainly needs to rest,” a relieved Tardy said.

"He is an integral member of the team and it will be a big blow if he fails to recover in time for Sunday’s game.”

Mico is expected to resume light training this afternoon. He proved just how valuable he is to the team during the Caf U-17 Championship where Rwanda lost to Burkina Faso in the final.

Should he fail to recover in time, Tardy will have no choice but to turn to APR academy striker Suleiman Kakira.

Against Panama, the Junior Wasps took a 1-0 first half lead courtesy of an own goal from Roberto Chen. However, with 11 minutes to play, Chen redeemed himself with an equalizer from the spot kick.

In other friendlies, England beat Ivory Coast 5-4 in a thrilling encounter.

The Junior Wasps yesterday checked in at their Fifa reserved hotel ‘Fiesta Inn’ which is just 300m away from England’s base (Holiday Inn).

Uruguay and Canada complete Rwanda’s Group (C).

Ends