AFC Leopards dealt injury blow ahead of Equity clash

Continental hopefuls AFC Leopards have been dealt a major injury blow ahead of this weekend’s FKF Cup semi-final match against maverick unknowns Equity FC with skillful winger Jaffari Owiti effectively ruled out of the tie. Owiti picked a knee injury in last weekend's last eight clash against Tusker.

Owiti went off moments after he had come on for winger Harrison Mwendwa during the 1-0 win over Tusker FC in the quarter-final on Wednesday afternoon at Ruaraka Grounds. The striker miscued a cross and the impact of his action left him with a knee problem.

After the match, he was helped off the ground by his teammates with his knee heavily bandaged. The extent of the damage on his knee is yet to be determined but Ingwe will be hoping that it is nothing serious and that he will be available for the title run-in.

Should the injury be declared long-term, this will be a massive blow for an already depleted Ingwe side who are in contention for both the league title and the FKF Cup.

The match against Tusker was the second Owiti was featuring in since he went AWOL a few weeks ago. The winger, alongside Marvin Nabwire, had reportedly sneaked out for trials in Nigeria and when they returned, they were frozen out of the team for a couple of weeks as a disciplinary measure.

The pair returned to Ingwe’s squad last weekend against Bungoma Super Stars, Nabwire started in the game while the winger came on as a second-half sub as Leopards came from a goal down to beat the Division One side, 4-2 to progress to the FKF Cup quarter-final.

After progressing to the semis, Leopards will face Division One side, Equity FC over the weekend. A win will see them qualify for the final where they will play the winner of the semi-final match between Nairobi City Stars/ Bidco United and Gor Mahia/Kariobangi Sharks.

The Cup winner will represent the country in the CAF Confederation Cup. Ingwe last won the title in 2017 when they defeated Kariobangi Sharks in the final played at the Moi International Sports Center Kasarani. Leopards was under the tutelage of Robert Matano then.