Injuries rock Dembare

ARCHFORD Gutu has been ruled out of Dynamos' trip to Hwange on Sunday for the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match as injuries continue to pile up at the Harare giants.

The midfielder, who has been one of the key instigators of the team's revival, joins the club skipper Edward Sadomba, Simba Nhivi, Tawanda Chisi and Tawanda Macheke on the treatment table.

Sadomba and Nhivi are expected back at training next week, but there are no definite return dates for the other injured players.

Gutu picked a groin injury in the team's last league match against Mushowani Stars at the weekend.

He was replaced by Chisi, who has also picked a similar problem, leaving coach Tonderai Ndiraya with a very thin list of personnel to select from in the defensive midfield.

"We are going to miss Archford because he has been giving our team a different dimension and his loss is a huge blow, but I'm expecting those that are going to replace him to step up to the challenge," Ndiraya said.

"It's a huge challenge, but we have other players who can play well in that department. It's a matter of choice from those that we have and among them, we have Edgar Mhungu, who can also fill in that slot. We also have Simba Mupamaonde, who has been playing some cameo roles in the team."

But it is forgotten Kudzanai Dhemere who is expected to be picked ahead of the pecking order and given a chance to resurrect his career.

The young midfielder was the star of the team at the start of the season last year, but then fizzled out as the campaign progressed.

This term, he has barely featured in the team.

"He has been missing in action, but we expect him to play a huge role in this match. In terms of personnel, we are covered, but of course, we are confident with those that are going to replace these guys and we hope that they will play to their full potential," Ndiraya said.

Nhivi has a knee injury from a freak accident he was involved in last week, and will again miss this week's matches.

Sadomba is yet to recover from the head injury he sustained almost a month ago, but Ndiraya expects his skipper to be available next week.

"He is making some progress and we expect him to start training next week," the Dynamos mentor said.

Despite the long list of injuries, Ndiraya is hopeful that the team will still be able to get a positive result at the Colliery, a venue that has proved difficult for many visiting teams before.

But for Dynamos, they have a very good record in Hwange in recent times.

In their last six visits to Hwange, DeMbare have only lost twice, in a 4-2 and 1-0 defeat in the 2013 and 2014 seasons, respectively.

Their last trip to Hwange was in 2017 and they won 1-0. The previous two years, they had managed draws.

In 2012, Dynamos also collected all the three points after a 2-0 win.

DeMbare have not lost on their six matches, with their last defeat coming against Highlanders in June.

Since then, they have won three and drawn the same number, which has seen them climb up the log and into title contention.

Ndiraya will be looking for another win that would see them strengthen their case for the championship.