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Danny Phiri (left)

GOLDEN Arrows midfielder Danny Phiri faces around eight months on the sidelines with an Achilles injury.

The Zimbabwean, who played 24 league matches in his first season for Arrows last term, was scheduled for surgery on Tuesday.

“Yes, he has suffered an Achilles tendon (injury). It happened at training. He was just about to run and take off and he pulled his Achilles tendon,” Arrows coach Clinton Larsen told KickOff.com.

“These things happen. It’s part of the game. Normally it could be six to eight months (out). It just depends on the player, depends on the recovery, depends on how the operation is done. So we’ll just wait and see in the second half of the season whether he’ll be back or not.”

Phiri was sent off in the club’s MTN8 opener against Bidvest Wits this season and was suspended for their next two matches against Ajax Cape Town and Bloemfontein Celtic. Defender Lehlohonolo Nonyane has also been ruled out for another week or two with a hamstring problem sustained in the 1-1 draw with Celtic on August 23. Nonyane missed much of 2016/17 after damaging his groin in October 2016.

“Nonyane will be back in the next week to two weeks, so he’s also out,” adds Larsen.

However, right-back Siyabonga Dube returned for last night’s league clash with Wits at Bidvest after serving a two-game ban.  – Kick-Off