Gor Mahia have confirmed defender Wellington Ochieng will not be involved until the end of the season.
The right-back has been training with the team after recovering from injury but according to coach Steven Polack, the injury has refused to heal and when they ordered further scans, it was decided he needed surgery.
“Yes, Ochieng needs some operation,” Polack told Goal on Friday. “He needs some operation to repair his leg.
“He has been training with us since he came back from the injury setback but then he continued to feel the pain and eventually we sent him to undertake an MRI and doctors have now advised he must go under the knife to repair the right knee.”
On a positive note, Polack confirmed that defender Philemon Otieno was winning his way back into the team after he played for 45 minutes in a friendly on Wednesday.
Otieno was also injured last year while turning out for the Harambee Stars in the Africa Nations Championship (Chan) qualifier against Tanzania and was forced to undergo an operation.
However, Polack now says Otieno is looking fit and ready to start playing for the first team.
“[Philemon] played 45 minutes on Wednesday and he came through very okay and he still needs more playing time to get into the rhythm of the game. I know he has been out for a while and he needs now a couple of matches to come back," Polack added.
“Maybe a few more weeks for him before we use him for the first time this year, but he looks sharp as always in training and was also a joy to watch in the build-up, and I was happy he came out unscathed from the friendly.”
Gor Mahia, who are at the summit of the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) table, will take on Posta Rangers in the FKF Shield Cup Round of 16 match at Afraha Stadium in Nakuru on Saturday.