The Wekundu wa Msimbazi now have five key players on the treatment table with the derby against rivals Yanga around the corner
Simba SC have suffered another blow after defender Shomari Kapombe joined the growing list of injured players at the club.
Kapombe was stretchered off during their Mainland Premier League match against Tanzania Prisons as Simba went on to lose their first match of the season 1-0 and also relinquish second position to rivals Yanga SC on the 18-team table.
Goal can now reveal Kapombe has joined the list of injured players at the Wekundu wa Msimbazi, others being striker and captain John Bocco, Meddie Kagere, Chris Mugali, and Gerson Fraga.
With the league and Caf Champions League fixtures coming thick and fast, it is not clear when the four players will be able to return.
Against Tanzania Prisons, Samson Mbagula scored the only goal that separated the two sides in their first engagement after returning from the international break.
Simba coach Sven Vandenbroeck has maintained a brave face, insisting losing the match was not a big issue but all he wants to see is how his players will respond to the defeat.
“We have to accept and move on and I have already asked my players to shift focus to the next league match,” Vandenbroeck is quoted by the club’s official website.
“In football, we have three results, you either win, lose or draw and it has happened that we lost our match, and it means we start preparations there and then for the next match and that is what I have told the boys, they should not cry over spilt milk, they should dust themselves up and focus.”
Vandenbroeck also dismissed reports that Simba lost the match because they were missing some of their key players, among them midfielder Clatous Chama and defender Pascal Wawa, but instead, said they are focusing on the next assignment.
“I will be lying if I say missing our key players led to the defeat, I don’t want to say that, Simba is a big team and we have players who can do the job if others are out, and as I said before, we lost in a fair way, and I don’t want to concentrate on the defeat, I have moved on and I also want my players to accept and move on," he continued.
The defeat also came after Simba had picked up a 4-0 win against JKT Tanzania before the break. Their next two matches will be against Ruvu Shooting and Mwadui FC before facing Yanga in the Kariakoo Derby on November 7.