Injury headaches for Tinkler

ORLANDO Pirates coach Eric Tinkler looks set to register forward Tendai Ndoro for the CAF Confederation Cup to fill the void left by his injured strikers.

Kermit Erasmus withdrew from Saturday’s Carling Black Label Cup match against Kaizer Chiefs with a hamstring injury and another striker, Thamsanqa Gabuza, was taken off in the first half of that clash after sustaining a knock.

Injuries to defenders Rooi Mahamutsa and Thabo Matlaba are also a big concern for the coach ahead of the MTN8 clash with Ajax Cape Town tomorrow and the Confederation Cup match against Tunisian side CS Sfaxien at home on Saturday.

‘‘Thankfully I have left that one space open to register someone. If our strikers will be out for a long time, then we need to consider that option [registering Ndoro].

‘‘Kermit Erasmus picked up a hamstring injury during training. We rested him for two days. We did a final assessment on him yesterday [Friday] and he was still a major concern.

‘‘When [Thamsanqa] Gabuza went down I wanted to take [Lehlohonolo] Majoro off. Majoro is the only player I have left as a striker who is registered for the Confed Cup. ‘Thabo Matlaba picked up a hamstring injury. He should be out for a month.”

Tinkler gave new signing Edwin Gyimah a run on Saturday and though he looked a little rusty, the coach is excited by the midfielder’s arrival. Tinkler has to make the tough decision on who he registers between Gyimah and Ndoro for the Confederation Cup.

‘‘We are very happy to get Gyimah in. He was one of the players we earmarked at the end of last season because he is a very adaptable player. We can use him in the centre of defence should we have any issues there or we can use him in the holding midfield role.

‘‘He is an international player. He plays for Ghana. He understands playing in Africa and we felt that he would be a good addition.”