Cape Town City have suffered a major blow as defender Nathan Fasika is set to be out for the rest of the season, iDiski Times has learnt.
Fasika suffered a bad knee injury in October and it is why City have moved quickly to sign Lorenzo Gordinho to ensure they have some cover when the season resumes in December, post the FIFA World Cup break.
Gordinho, who previously played for Kaizer Chiefs and Bidvest Wits respectively, joined the club recently and will be announced in the next coming days.
The top Congo defender Fasika joined the Cape Town club from FC Saint Eloi Lupopo in his homeland at the beginning of last season on a contract that will expire at the end of 2025/26 season.
The 23-year-old quickly hit the ground running, helping City in his first season reach the MTN8 final, where they lost to Mamelodi Sundowns on penalties.
His strength and power were also important when City had their best ever league campaign, as they finished as the runners up to Sundowns, with Fasika featuring in 27 matches in all competitions and scoring one goal in the process.
This season, Fasika has featured in 12 matches in all competitions, scoring once which came against Kaizer Chiefs in August.
But Fasika picked up this knee injury against Marumo Gallants in October – the club’s last game before the FIFA World Cup break and was replaced in that game after 25 minutes by Keano Cupido.
He did not feature when City lost 1-0 (and 1-0 on aggregate) in the CAF Confederation Cup playoff second leg against USM Alger last month in Setif, Tunisia.
City had established then that he was going to be out for some time and that’s why they have signed Gordinho to fill up his absence.
City will resume the DStv Premiership post the World Cup without Fasika when they host Royal AM at DHL Stadium on 30 December.
It is not clear whether City will be able to field Gordinho in that game or he will have to wait until the match against SuperSport United on 3 January next year once the transfer window is officially opened.
