Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana has been handed some timely encouragement as the Burundian striker battles through a difficult period at Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs.
Chiefs have indicated that Bimenyimana is not in the club's plans for this season (2023/24) and the evidence of that has come with his omission from the match day squad for the three consecutive games.
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While Bimenyimana was the source of goals through the first half of the 2022/23 campaign, he then fell out of favour and with the appointment of Molefi Ntseki his fortunes have sunk under the mud.
So far, termination talks for the remaining year have brought no solution while a move to Wydad Casablanca failed for the Burundian.
"What is happening in the space related to Kaizer Chiefs is something that I don't have first-hand information on, but he is a player that we still need in the national team," Burundi national team coach Etienne Ndayiragije tells KickOff.
"When they (Chiefs) came to Dar es Salaam to play Yanga (Young Africans) during pre-season, I thought that he would be there and when I asked, I was told that he has gone to Wydad who he was due to join at the time.
"We have a crucial AFCON qualifier game against Cameroon next month (September 12) and we need him, so my hope is that he is going to be ready.
"It is a big loss to us that he is not playing now.
"The only solution is to have a special program designed for him because we will still need him.
"He scored and then had an assist (3-2 win over Namibia) so that is how much effective he has been for us.
"I know his ability and that is why we take interest in what is happening with him.
"With his current situation, he needs to be encouraged to stay mentally fit through also keep physically fit.
"For us, he is a good player, and we understand his strengths in how much of a finisher he is and how much he understands football.
"He needs help and needs to be encouraged through what is happening because this is a mental warfare.
"With four weeks to go before our next game, I think it will be enough time for someone like him to prepare.
"We must work with him a bit more before the game against Cameroon because we definitely need him.
"In the national team you need to understand that we will obviously need players when they are in form, but players also need the national team when they not going through a good time.
"This is our time to lift him up because he has been in our squad through the good times when he was scoring for the club, and we benefitted.
"It is our responsibility to now lift him," says Ndayiragije.
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