Fungai Muderere
AFTER being side-lined for over two months due to a knee injury, Chicken Inn midfield enforcer Sipho Ndlovu has been cleared to start doing light training.
Ndlovu got injured weeks before the start of the Chibuku Super Cup and as a result his club did not register him for the cup competition.
“Sipho had a problem with his knee and we had to give him a break from taking part in our training sessions. He was advised to go for scans and we are glad he has been deemed okay. He started doing light training last week. However, we did not register him for the Chibuku Super Cup contest, but we are definitely going to register him for the league competition,” said Chicken Inn head coach Joey Antipas.
The Castle Lager Premier Soccer League was expected to start in mid-July. However, an increase in Covid-19 infections has thrown the sports industry off track, following suspension of all sporting activities by the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC).
The SRC complied with Government’s directive aimed at containing a Covid-19 surge after Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, who is also the Health and Child Care Minister, announced a ban on all gatherings, except for funerals, last Saturday.
Ndlovu, a former Bulawayo City player, was part of the Gamecocks squad that conquered in the four-team Energem International Bonanza invitational tournament that was played in Malawi early last year.
Antipas said the return of Ndlovu would usher in healthy competition for places in the Gamecocks midfield. Besides Ndlovu, the Antipas-led Gamecocks technical team has club returnee Tafadzwa Kutinyu, Clive Dzingai, Shepherd Mhlanga at their disposal. The players are all endowed with good ball control, top notch ball distribution and visionary play.
Kutinyu cannot at the moment play for the Gamecocks in the Chibuku Super Cup because he is yet to get his International Transfer Certificate (ITC), which is required for a player to be issued a licence.
Kutinyu, who was with Horoya AC of Guinea, was part of the 2015 championship-winning Chicken Inn. He played for Singinda United in Tanzania in 2017-2018 and Azam FC (2018-2019) before moving to Horoya AC in 2019.
Before Chicken Inn, Kutinyu played for Bantu Rovers and Notwane in Botswana.
In February, Chicken Inn signed another midfielder Michael Charamba, who they said was a replacement for Clemence Matawu, who is now the club’s administrator.
Before Covid-19 struck early last year, leading to suspension of all football activity, the Gamecocks had signed Ian Nekati from ZPC Kariba, Dzingai formerly with Mushowani Stars, Yadah’s Paddington Nyamakura and Brian Muza from Division One side Talen Vision.
