The Belgian tactician lost yet another player after Esilaba was stretchered off during Sunday’s draw with Kenya Police.
AFC Leopards head coach Patrick Aussems has bemoaned the piling injuries within his squad, blaming them for his team’s recent winless run.
Ingwe were forced to share the spoils with Kenya Police FC following a goalless draw in a Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKFPL) clash on Sunday, a match that saw Aussems lose yet another player to injury.
Defender Tedian Esilaba was stretchered off after just 18 minutes, having come off worse from a tackle that saw him drop to the ground in pain, forcing his coach to stretch an already thin squad by making further changes.
“We already have a small squad and now, one more injury means that we have four players out,” lamented Aussems after the match.
“Levis (Opiyo) got his fifth yellow card so he’s suspended for Wednesday's match against FC Talanta and it becomes a problem.
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“We were lucky until February 8 with injuries and suspensions and now, everything is coming at the same time but we need to deal with that.”
Ingwe have now gone two matches without a win, the draw following Wednesday’s 1-0 loss to Tusker FC, having put together a three-match winning run in all competitions prior to that.
Worryingly for Aussems, his side also seems not able to score and you have to go back to February 2 as the last time they scored more than one goal, when they thrashed Talanta 6-0. Since then, they have won five games, all ending 1-0, with two barren draws as well as many 1-0 losses.
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The Belgian tactician is, however, hoping that those present can maintain a high level of performance to ensure Leopards do not fall off the table. “With all the injuries, we are competitive so I’m sure we will be competitive on Wednesday as well,” he added.
Leopards occupy fifth place on the table with 39 points from 23 matches, 10 behind league leaders Gor Mahia, and two ahead of sixth-placed Police, who have played two matches less.