Tuskers dump injured player

Tuskers dump injured player PDF Print E-mail

Wednesday, 07 March 2012 09:55

By Ricky Zililo

INJURED Matabeleland Tuskers Cricket Franchise leg spinner Dumisani 'Nkunzi' Mankunzini received a double blow, as he will have to foot his own medical bills until his return to the sport.

The former Zimbabwe national Under-19 team skipper suffered a career-threatening stress fracture on his back and last month doctors in South Africa advised him that the gravity of his injury required him to have a long lay-off.

Mankunzini is most likely to be out for at least 10 months.

Mankunzini, the only leg spinner in the region, has a rookie contract with the Bulawayo cricket side that runs out at the end of the month and could not play for the better part of the last half of the 2011-12 season due to injury.

Matabeleland Tuskers chief executive officer Stanley Staddon on Sunday said he would not be signing the player who was injured while on duty at Tuskers.

Mankunzini had been joined on the sidelines by national team pace bowler Christopher Mpofu who however returned to action at the weekend for his club, Queens Sports Club.

Mpofu picked up the back injury while on duty with the national team in November and missed Zimbabwe's tour of New Zealand.

"In as far as injuries are concerned Chris is back and is playing club cricket. As for Mankunzini he is still injured and won't get a contract this coming season. We are not catering for his medical expenses I think it is his club that is doing that. You can find out from his club," said Staddon.

Tawanda Mupariwa, Terrence Duffin and Craig Ervine have in the past been given contracts while carrying injuries.

Mankunzini was the captain of Bulawayo Athletic Club (BAC) who are in the Bulawayo Metropolitan Cricket League with Queens, Emakhandeni and Crescent.

According to information gathered, the player first felt the back pain during one of Tuskers' training sessions in October 2010.

Then, Tuskers were under the tutelage of Robin Brown and Mankunzini went for his first back examination on 29 October 2010.

On 23 February 2011 while on a tour of duty with the Tuskers B side against Manicaland Mountaineers in Mutare, the player did not finish the matches and returned home due to injury.

He then did another scan of his back with the Tuskers medical team advising him to take a short break.

It was the Zimbabwe Cricket physiotherapist Amato Machikicho who realised that Mankunzini had a serious injury during to a fitness test done in August and recommended that the player be examined.

Mpofu's injury was detected at its infancy hence his early return to action.

As for Mankunzini, he will be going back to South Africa for another medical check-up on 30 March.