Injured Usengimana could miss whole season

Turbo league defending champion Rayon Sports could be without central defender Faustin Usengimana for the whole season after he suffered a devastating double fracture in the right leg on the first day of the season on Saturday.The young Amavubi Star defender underwent a successful surgery on Saturday night at Kanombe Military Hospital.Following the surgery, Usengimana will start physical therapy after three months and after he will undergo muscle rehabilitation, strengthening, and sport-specific rehabilitation before he could be declared fit to return to full training.Experts say the best-case scenario to return from such a fracture is 6-8 months, a feat which would see him miss Rayon’s campaign on the CAF Champions League, Turbo King Football League and the qualifying rounds of the Peace Cup competition.Rayon Sports secretary general Olivier Gakwaya said yesterday, “The operation was successful, but I don’t think we will be able to see him make a full recovery before the end of the season.”“It is a major blow for the player and the club as he is a key figure in the squad. However, if everything goes well, he might be fit to play some part in next year’s Cecafa Kagame Cup (scheduled for mid 2014) or the later stages of Peace Cup,” he noted.This is the second time that Usengimana has suffered a serious injury. In 2011, a knee injury ruled him out of the Fifa Under-17 World Cup finals after playing just 20 minutes in the second group stage match against Uruguay.He made a comeback after nearly eight months to guide the Blues to their first league title in eight years last season.Rayon began their title defense with a 2-1 win over newcomers Gicumbi FC on Saturday at Amahoro national stadium.