Dynamos star player, Denver Mukamba has been ruled out of today’s Independence Cup final against Highlanders following a hamstring injury he sustained in the semi-final clash against Caps United on Sunday.
BY Kevin Mapasure
Mukamba missed training yesterday and, depending on the extent of the injury, could be forced to the sidelines for weeks.
However, striker, Quality Kangadze, who was also forced out of Sunday’s match in the first half after he took a knock, trained with the rest of the squad yesterday, which has given the popular Harare giants a boost ahead of the highly-anticipated clash with Bosso.
It is the absence of Mukamba that could leave the DeMbare faithfuls fretting ahead of the return to Castle Lager Premier Soccer League action at the weekend.
A hamstring injury can take several weeks to heal depending on the how bad the tear is.
Rest is an important component of getting back to fitness from a hamstring injury.
Mukamba is slowly returning to his influential self and his absence will be a blow to Mutasa, as Dynamos aim to put together confidence-boosting wins, as they seek to revive their league campaign, having managed one point from a possible six.
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For today’s match Mutasa can look to give his Cameroonian import, Christian Ntouba another run in the absence of Mukamba, while Kangadze could retain his starting berth.
DeMbare, who played well against Caps United will be looking to pick up from where they left on Sunday, only if rains can stay away.
On Sunday, the two teams played an exciting brand of football, but some of the excitement was lost after it started raining.
Mutasa said that he is expecting another tough match when his charges take on Erol Akbay’s Highlanders.
“Highlanders is a big side. Highlanders and Caps United are more or less the same, so we expect another tough match in the final,” he said.
“When we played them last year, we didn’t do so well, so we are seeking an improvement.”
Mutasa said his side will be looking to make good use of their attacking prowess.
“We are an attacking team, each time we play we always want to take the game to our opponents. If you look at all the three competitive matches that we have played against FC Platinum, Triangle and Caps United, you can see that we are good in attack, we just have to do better defensively.”
The former DeMbare midfielder, however, wants to see an improvement from Ntouba, who didn’t play well on his debut, although he claimed to have had the last touch to Dynamos’ goal on Sunday.
“Against Caps, he did not play to the expected levels he was a bit sluggish, so I hope in the next match he can do better, we know he is capable.”
Mutasa said Ntouba gives his side better balance.
“We have always wanted a top man, who can hold on to the ball and bring others into play since Takesure Chinyama left. He (Ntouba) has the attributes so we hope he can fill in that void.”
DeMbare come face-to-face with their former striker, Roderick Mutuma, who crossed the floor to join Highlanders, for the first time since he left. Bosso edged out FC Platinum via a penalty shootout in their semi-final played at Barbourfieds Stadium.
