Wakaso and Waris turn bench warmers in Russia

Ghana pair Wakaso Mubarak and Abdul Majeed Waris got their season underway to an undesirable start as they were both unused substitutes in their Russian Premier League opening game.

Both Waris and Wakaso sat on the substitute bench for the entire regulation minutes at the Central’nyj stadion Kazan’ as Spartak Moscow got their season underway with a heavy 4-0 thrashing of Rubin Kazan’.

The duo, who were both in Ghana’s squad for the 2014 World Cup, rejoined their clubs in time for the pre-season training but failed to manage playing minutes in the opening game of the Russian season.

Spartak manager Murat Yakin exercised his preference for new signing Artem Dzyuba who proved his worth in the game by netting a brace and in the berth available for substitutes in attack, Paraguayan forward Lucas Ramón Barrios remain the second-choice for the coach.

Wakaso could also not work his way into the Rubin Kazan’ starting line-up and could not earn a substitute spot among the substitutions.

Waris has failed to secure regular playing time at the club and has been linked with a move away from the Otkrytie Arena while Wakaso’s future seems to remain with the club though reports have been linking him to Italian Serie A side Genoa.