Oliechs AFCON dream shattered as ace is ruled out for 5 months

Gor Mahia striker Dennis Oliech will be out for five months, longer than initial thought.

Oliech picked a nasty arm fracture after a tackle from Western Stima player Junior Mukhisa during their league match in Kisumu yesterday that ended in a barren stalemate and had to be rushed to hospital in an ambulance.

Team doctor Fredrick  Otieno Onyango confirmed that the injury is extreme and the former FC Nantes striker can only make it to the pitch after five months.

And team head coach Hassan Oktay has bemoaned the loss blaming match referee for taking no action against the Mukhisa for a foul challenge on Oliech.

“The referee was so close and witnessed Oliech being brought pulled down nastily but neither warned the Stima player nor called for a foul. He only did it as an afterthought when he saw Oliech being stretched to the ambulance. This is impunity,’’ growled Oktay.

Despite Oliech’s long term absence which effectively ends any slim hopes he had of making it to Harambe Stars squad for this year’s African Cup of Nations finals, Oktay insists he will not sign any new striker for next season adding that he has confidence in his current attackers.

“I will not sign any new striker for the coming season. I have confidence in my attackers and I need to make them even better. They have played a great role in the team,” explained Oktay.

The Harambee Stars squad for Afcon finals leave for Paris on May 31 for preparations and this will be way before his recovery, dashing any faint hopes he had of gate crashing into the Sebastian Migne coached squad.

Stars last appearance at the Afcon showpiece in 2004 was largely due to Oliech’s heroics but it seems the script has gone against him this time round even as he made a plot to make a last assault at Africa’s premier football competition.

Migne had earlier on indicated that any player, even in the lower division who impressed him, could make a cut to the squad.