The towering Olunga, who also captains Kenya’s Harambee Stars, was left out of coach Benni McCarthy’s squad for the recently concluded FIFA Series friendly matches during the FIFA international break owing to the injury.
Kenya competed in the FIFA Series 2026 in Rwanda from March 23rd to 31st, 2026, as part of Group A with Estonia, Grenada, and Rwanda. Kenya drew 1-1 with Estonia (losing 4-5 on penalties) on March 27th, and defeated Grenada 3-0 on March 30th, 2026. The matches were played in Kigali, Rwanda.
Olunga suffered pelvic injury
Olunga’s Saudi Arabia club Al Arabi has confirmed in a statement that the former Gor Mahia striker suffered a pelvic injury during a recent Qatar Stars League fixture and he had to undergo surgery.
“Our player, Michael Olunga, suffered a pelvic injury. He underwent successful surgery this morning in Paris, France,” said Al Arabi via a social media post.
Confirming how long Olunga will be out, Al Arabi said: “The player is expected to be sidelined for eight weeks, during which time he will undergo a rehabilitation program under the supervision of the club’s medical staff.”
The eight-week rehabilitation programme means Olunga will not play again for Al Arabi this season, with the season slated to conclude on April 28th.
Olunga has left Al Arabi sitting fifth on the 12-team league table with 31 points from 19 matches. Al Arabi have won nine matches, drawn four, and lost six. In the current campaign, Olunga has only managed six league goals for his club.
He started the season in strong form, including scoring a brace against Qatar SC in late November 2025. Olunga had joined Al Arabi after a successful stint with Al Duhail SC in the same league.
Olunga eyes on breaking record
The injury will spell doom for Olunga, who made his debut for the Kenya national team in a friendly against Seychelles at the Stade Linité in Victoria in 2015, and has a personal goal to achieve with the Harambee Stars.
Olunga is currently fighting to break the all-time Kenyan record of goals scored set by former Gor Mahia legend William Ouma which stands at 34 goals. Olunga is just one goal shy of breaking the record.
In a recent interview with Flashscore, Olunga remained positive about breaking the mark. He said: “Having a coach like Benni McCarthy, who is the all-time top scorer for South Africa, it gives me motivation to believe it is achievable.
“Hopefully, if I continue to work hard with the national team, God will give me the opportunity one day to be the all-time top goalscorer for Kenya.”
With Harambee Stars preparing for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which will be hosted in East Africa, a lot of friendlies have already been lined up, meaning Olunga will not be available to feature.
After starting his career in Sweden with Djurgarden IF, Olunga later joined Chinese club Guizhou Zhicheng, who later loaned him out to La Liga side Girona FC, for one year.
Olunga made his La Liga debut against Las Palmas, scoring a hat-trick in the span of 22 minutes during a 6-0 win, becoming both the first Kenyan player and the first Girona player to score a hat-trick in La Liga.
He later moved to Japanese outfit Kashiwa Reysol, where he scored eight goals for Kashiwa in a 13-1 victory over Kyoto Sanga. Olunga finished the season with 27 league goals as Kashiwa finished the J2 season as champions and won promotion to the first division.
In 2020, Olunga finished as the top scorer in the 2020 Japanese J1 League with 28 goals, winning the Golden Boot and the J-League 2020 MVP. He is the first African player to win the J-League MVP award.
Olunga finished as the top scorer in the 2020 Japanese J1 League with 28 goals, winning the Golden Boot and the J-League 2020 MVP, and becoming the African player to win the J-League MVP award.
After moving to Qatar, he landed a three-year contract with Al Duhail SC, where he finished as the top scorer of the 2021 AFC Champions League, but Al Duhail crashed out of the competition after a 1-1 draw with Al Ahli Saudi in late April, and Esteghlal qualified as group winners.
He later guided Al Duhail to secure the 2022/23 Qatar Stars League title, scoring four goals in a 5-2 defeat of Al Shamal, before later leaving to join Al Arabi.
Olunga scored his first goal for the Harambee Stars in a friendly against South Sudan, which resulted in a 2-0 win.