By Bhora Afrika
Highlanders will miss the services of arguably their best attacking midfielder, Devine Mhindirira, when they host fierce rivals Dynamos in a rescheduled week five premier soccer league encounter at Barbourfields Stadium on Thursday.
Mhindirira, who was Bosso’s best player last season after making the Soccer Stars of the Year finalists, is out for weeks with a toe injury.
The lanky attacker missed Bosso’s last two league matches, the 0-0 draw with Simba Bhora at Barbourfields Stadium on 14 May and Sunday’s 1-1 stalemate against Cranborne Bullets in Harare.
With the magnitude of Thursday’s match, his absence comes as a huge blow to the Baltermar Brito coached side that is visibly lacking a creative player capable of feeding the strikers upfront.
However, the Brazilian born Portuguese gaffer is confident ahead of the derby despite the absence of Mhindirira.
Said Brito during a pre-match media briefing on Tuesday: “…we will win. We’re confident of a win.”
On the other hand, Dynamos will be without their captain Frank Makarati who has been solid at the heart of their defence.
Makarati is reportedly out for six weeks after fracturing his toe when DeMbare played a goalless draw with Herentals at National Sports Stadium last week.
The Harare giants head coach Herbert Maruwa expressed his worry following the steady central defenders’ absence.
“It’s very unfortunate our skipper [Frank Makarati] will be out of action for an estimated six weeks and it’s sad considering he has also been giving us some goals,” Maruwa told H-Metro.
The giants of Zimbabwean football go into this match without recording a win in their last three league matches.