SILVERBACKS’ hopes of pushing for silverware at this weekend’s Nakuru 7s have been frustrated by reports that the team will be without three of its top players.

Lucien Bikamba (center back) is out with typhoid; Olivier Uwamahoro (center back) has an ankle injury while Eric Mbarushimana (full back) can’t travel with the team due to work commitments.

"It is definitely a huge blow to us because they are key players in the team,” Silverbacks stand in Coach Gerard Nsenga conceded.

The Nakuru 7s event is scheduled for November 28 -29 in Kenya.

Last year, Rwanda’s league champions Buffaloes stunned the crowd after reaching the quarter-finals.

The twelve-man team, which has been locked in intensive preparations for two weeks, departs for Nakuru tomorrow morning. Nsenga expects tough competitions from Uganda’s Kobs and the event’s defending champions Mwamba of Kenya.

Ends