Kenyan Premier League champions Gor Mahia suffer Ernest Wendo blow ahead of Confed Cup

Ernest Wendo of Kenyan club Gor Mahia (L) vies for the ball with Fosseny Colibaly (C) of Tunisian club Esperance during the CAF Champions League first round match between Gor Mahia and Esperance Tunis in Machakos, Kenya, 07 March 2018. EPA/DANIEL IRUNGU

by Phumzile Ngcatshe

Wednesday Jul 11, 2018. 14:00

Kenyan Premier League champions Gor Mahia are set to miss the services of midfielder Ernest Wendo who is nursing a groin injury.

Gor will be without the midfield powerhouse on Wednesday afternoon in their CECAFA Kagame Cup semi-final match against Azam in Dar es Salaam.

The player faces up to six weeks on the sidelines after limping off in the quarter-final game against Vipers last Sunday.

The injury looks to keep him out of their CAF Confederation Cup campaign as well as many of their league assignments including their trip to England for a friendly against Everton FC.

"We have lost Wendo, we don't know for how long. We need a proper physio to assess him and the extent of the injury, but it could be a minimum of six weeks because it's a groin injury and that usually requires a lot of time," head coach Dylan Kerr said.

While Kerr will patch up with Philemon Otieno moving to midfield and Innocent Wafula slotting in at right back at the Kagame Cup and local assignments, he might have to think of a solution for the Confederation Cup as Wafula is not registered to play.

However, before their continental assignments, the Kenyan champions will have a clash in the Kagame Cup when they meet Tanzania's Young Africans in the semis on Wednesday, a repeat of the 2015 final at the same venue.

Kerr noted that his troops will not be going into the tie seeking revenge after losing 2-0 in 2015, but said they will focus on getting the job done and qualifying for Sunday's final.

"I don't really like the stories of revenge because sometimes the players lose focus. What I want us to do is go there and get the job done, do what we do best. I was here in 2015 and I watched the game; I think they were unlucky then," the tactician added.