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Former FC Platinum midfielder and 2010 Soccer Star of the Year finalist Bhekimpilo Ncube who played just three games and was down as a result of hamstring injury that has been nagging him for a long time, right back Lawson Nkomo and midfielders Heritein Masuku and Milton Ncube have been missing out on action.
Bosso lead the table by three points with a game in hand and have managed to maintain their 2006 record of not losing a match in 10 games although in that year, the team never drew but won all the ten games.
“The guys are training with the rest of the squad and we are monitoring their progress ahead of the match,” said Highlanders team doctor, Xolani Ndlovu yesterday.
The presence of the quartet will present the Highlanders technical team with a wide choice of players who have the necessary experience to get the team back into its high scoring form, which seemed to take a nose dive in the last three games when they scored just a single goal against Hwange in a friendly match.
Before that Highlanders had scored 22 goals in eight games which was an average of 2.72 goals per match.
Besides the interesting news of the recovery of the four players, the match will also see Highlanders chairman Peter Dube coming face to face with Harare City boss, Lesley Gwindi probably for the first time since that 28 February 1999 match at Barbourfields Stadium.
Gwindi was then the PSL and Dynamos secretary-general while Dube held the same post at Highlanders and coincidentally the two now chair their respective clubs.
League action though starts tomorrow with struggling Black Mambas, who reportedly fired the now nomadic coach Moses Chunga, playing host to Gunners at Morris Depot while second placed FC Platinum could be at the top of the log if they beat Monomotapa at Gwanzura Stadium.
Quelaton, whose coach Philani Ncube has said they are on a survival mission, are on the road to face Buffaloes at Sakubva Stadium in a match that can go either way, judging by the way Kwela-kwela played against Hardbody last Sunday.
The big league matches are however on Sunday when championship dark horses, Shabanie Mine play fired up Chicken Inn at Maglas Stadium and Hwange play Motor Action at the Colliery.
Chicken Inn coach Adam Ndlovu, who is always modest about what he says about his opponents, says they are aware of the task that lies ahead.
“We prepared well like any other time but we are also aware of the threat that Shabanie Mine poses and like them we want nothing but the three points,” said Ndlovu.
He said he had a lot of respect for Luke Masomere because of his vast experience in the game.
“Even though we beat them back-to-back last year, it’s now history. This is 2012 and obviously they are also a different team altogether,” said Ndlovu.
The former Highlanders and Warriors hitman said veteran defender and skipper Herbert Dick will miss the match as he is attending to an illness in the family back in Kadoma.
At the Colliery, Chipangano need to rise from two morale shattering defeats and show their mental strength and prove that their declaration to lift the league title this year is not just a dream.
After a 4-1 defeat to Shabanie Mine at home, hopes within the Colliery community were high that the boys were going to win or at worst draw against Chicken Inn but this was never to be as Evans Chikwaikwai struck on the dearth of time to hand the Bulawayo side victory.
Colliery management though remains confident with the technical bench and says they are not pressing any panic buttons as yet.
Fixtures:
Tomorrow: Black Mambas v Gunners (Morris Depot); Monomotapa v FC Platinum
Sunday: Highlanders v Harare City (BF); Hardbody v Blue Rangers (Ascot); Buffaloes v Quelaton (Sakubva); Shabanie Mine v Chicken Inn (Maglas) Hwange v Motor Action (Colliery)
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