Kenya's key midfielder Mariga ruled out of Seychelles match

Real Sociedad midfielder, MacDonald Mariga will not feature in Kenya' s two-legged 2014 World Cup pre-qualifiers after fracturing his finger in their 4-0 La Liga defeat to Rayo Vallacano. Stars head coach, Francis Kimanzi confirmed that the key player who is on loan to the Spanish from Italian giants Inter Milan had arrived to the team's camp in Nairobi with a heavily bandaged finger that requires two weeks to heal. "He was injured during their game and went on to play the whole match but when they checked later, they discovered he had fractured a finger and he will not play in both games against Seychelles," Kimanzi said Tuesday. "I'm disappointed not to play him and I wish him quick recovery but I selected 25 players and we have adequate replacements in his position," he added. At the same time, only team captain, Dennis Oliech, who turns out for French Ligue 1 outfit AJ Auxerre was given the day off among the group of foreign players that joined the rest of the squad in training. "He arrived late last (Monday) night and we decided to give him enough time to recover but he will be available in the morning training session tomorrow (Wednesday)," the coach told. The team will depart on Thursday morning for Seychelles ahead of their first leg clash on Saturday before the sides' face-off in Nairobi on Tuesday week for the return. The Coach who was re-appointed to the role he vacated in February 2009 plans to shape his side defensively for the away game owing to the scant information the technical bench has on the style of play for the Islanders. "I have never watched play but being the home team, they will surely come out to attack and we need to be disciplined at the back and then exploit on the weaknesses when going forward since this is a knockout match," he asserted. Keeper Arnold Origi (FK Moss, Norway), defender James Situma (FK Tirana, Albania), midfielders, Mariga' s brother, Victor Mugubi (Glasgow Celtic FC) and Jamal Mohammed (FCM Targu Mures, Romania) were the new foreign based arrivals in the team who went on their first work out with the side on Tuesday. The winner over two legs will join the Africa qualifying group featuring Nigeria, Malawi and either Djibouti and Namibia who face-off in another pre-qualifier.