INJURIES have been constant for Young Africans SC this season and five players are currently sidelined as the team prepares to face Mamelodi Sundowns in the CAF Champions League at the end of this month.

Young Africans SC, alias Yanga, will be sweating over Ivorian midfielder Pacome Zouzoua's fitness after he went off with a knee problem in the defeat against Azam FC in Dar es Salaam on Sunday.

Zouzoua attempted to shake off the knock but was unable to continue after receiving further treatment. He was replaced by Joseph Guede ten minutes later.

Yanga's Information and Communication Manager Ali Kamwe Ali Kamwe said they are waiting for further medical tests to confirm the extent of Zouzoua's injury though initial assessment after he was assessed by the club's doctor Moses Etutu showed his injury is not as bad as first feared.

The Ivorian attacking midfielder has been Yanga's creative talisman in the CAF Champions League this season.

Head coach Miguel Gamondi could also be without right-back Kouassi Yao, who also went off against Azam FC with a hamstring issue. Kouassi felt a hamstring tightness and was substituted to protect him.

Another right full-back in Kibwana Shomari is also currently unavailable after sustaining an injury in the NBC Premier League duel against Geita Gold FC last week.

Without the two right full-backs, Dickson Job was forced to fill in the role against Azam FC.

Elsewhere, midfielders Khalid Aucho and Zawadi Mauya are still working towards full fitness. The Ugandan international midfielder has undergone surgery on a thigh injury and is undergoing a period of rehab. 

There is hope Aucho will be back for the first leg game immediately after the international break but that is not guaranteed while Mauya is closing in on a return after one month out.

Yanga will host Mamelodi Sundowns in the first leg of the last eight of the CAF Champions League in Dar es Salaam on March 30. The return tie is set to be held in Tshwane on April 5.

The Tanzanian team will come into the tie after finishing second in their CAF Champions League group. They managed to end their campaign with eight points, finishing ahead of Algeria’s CR Belouizdad and Ghana’s Medeama SC.

They will have their work cut out against the South African champions, who won four of their six Group Stage matches and are desperate to emulate their 2016 success when they lifted their first-ever continental title.

The aggregate winner of this clash will go on to face the victor of the other last-eight duel between Tunisia’s Espérance and Ivorian outfit ASEC Mimosas in the semi-finals set for late April.