•Batambuze who is recuperating in Uganda after going under the knife last year had raised eyebrows after his jersey number six had been handed to Owusu, Ghanaian import who joined the club last month without his knowledge
•He vowed to coerce the club to hand him back his favourite number six once he is given a clean bill of the health by the doctor.
Gor Mahia have maintained that injured Ugandan left back Shafik Batambuze is their asset after the player raised concerns after his shirt number was handed to Jackson Owusu.
Batambuze, who is recuperating in Uganda after going under the knife last year, had raised eyebrows after his jersey number six had been handed to Owusu, a Ghanaian import who joined the club last month without his knowledge.
Initially, the changes in the shirt number and the arrival of another left-back Michael Apudo from Posta Rangers were thought to be a sign of a contract termination for Batambuze but the club has assured the player that the terms in his contract will be honoured and will be ready to renew should the technical bench recommend so.
Batambuze’s injury borne during their Caf Champions League preliminary encounter against Aigle Noir of Burundi in August last year saw the club rely on Geoffrey Ochieng as the sole full-back left. The club brought in Apudo from last month who has since established himself in the starting team.
“He is still our player and we continue to wish him a speedy recovery. He has a running contract and we are hoping he recovers within the time set by the doctors because we miss his services. We gave out his shirt number because of his long injury layout. We will have a word with him once he is back and see if we will grant his wishes,” assured Gor’s chief executive officer, Lordvick Aduda.
The move to dish the shirt number was not well received by the player who said that his number was registered at Football Kenya Federation and was captured in his contract.
He vowed to coerce the club to hand him back his favourite number six once he is given a clean bill of the health by the doctor. He revealed that he had resumed light training in Kampala and would jet back soon.
“I do not understand why they gave my jersey number to another player without consulting me. It is registered at the federation and I will be demanding it back once I am fully fit. I am still a Gor player with a running contract and I am looking forward to rejoining the team once the doctor clears me,” protested the freekick specialist.