AFC Leopards will miss the services of Bienvenue Shaka and Collins Shichenje when they take on Bandari today in a Football Kenya Federation Premier League match at the Mbaraki Stadium.
Shaka, a Burundian import will miss the trip to Mombasa, thanks to a groin injury while Shichenje has been excused to work on the final touches of his imminent transfer to Greek top tier club PAOK.
The latest development is certainly another blow to coach Patrick Aussems' bid to bag his first league win as the players reportedly downed tools twice in protest over delayed salaries.
Aussems, who took over the reigns last week following the departure of Anthony Kimani began his tenure with a 6-0 win against Taita Taveta All Stars in a Betway Cup round of 64 match last weekend.
Ingwe's team manager, Tom Juma, confirmed that Shaka and Shichenje will be unavailable when Leopards hit the runaway today for the match which will present them an opportunity to face off with their former boss Andre Mbungo,the current Bandari coach. The dockers will be eyeing their fifth win of the season.
"We will travel for the match today but Shaka and Shichenje will not board the plane on various grounds. Shaka has a groin injury while Shichenje is working on his transfer to Greece and may not be in the right frame of mind for the match," he revealed
Juma, who dispelled rumours suggesting that the players had twice staged a go slow in the week, was optimistic of sinking Bandari despite missing the two key players.
Aussems is expected to summon Said Tsuma to fill in Shichenje's shoes while the void left by Shaka may see Aussems change his formation from the preferred 4-4-2 used in the previous matches.
"We are ready to pick maximum points in Mombasa despite missing players and the few challenges we had. Our players didn't abscond duty as widely reported earlier," he added
In another match lined up for the day, Ulinzi Stars will be gunning for their third win of the season when they host Sofapaka at the Kericho Green Stadium. The last time the two teams met, the soldiers carried the day courtesy of Enosh Ochieng's sole goal.
