Okumu ruled out of action in Belgium as Oduor a game away from English Championship

Kenyan international Joseph Okumu has been ruled out of KAA Gent’s clash against Cercle Brugge while his compatriot Clarke Oduor is a game away from sealing a return to the English Championship with Barnsley.

Joseph Okumu

The former Chemelil Sugar defender missed the opening clash against Cercle Brugge last week through injury with the manager Hein Vanhaezebrouck revealing he will also miss the return tie.

Gent are currently in the Belgian First Division UEFA Europa League Playoffs after finishing fifth in the regular season and missing out on the Championship playoffs by just three points.

In a pre-match press conference ahead of their Cercle Brugge clash on Saturday, Vanhaezebrouck revealed that Okumu will sit out of the tie due to injury.

"Okumu has not yet recovered enough for a place in the selection. (Paul) Nardi had a very mild concussion but is fine. Vadis trained all week and is part of the group," he said.

Okumu has impressive stats with no player recovering the ball more than him and Cercle Brugge defender Jean Marcelin since the start of the league play-offs this season (21 times).

Clarke Oduor

Kenyan international Clarke Oduor and his Barnsley side are just a game away from sealing a return to the Championship following a 2-1 aggregate win over Bolton Wanderers in the League One Playoff semi-finals.

Oduor who was shipped out on loan at the start of the season to Hartlepool United has not featured for Barnsley since cutting short his season-long loan in January after falling down the pecking order.

Following a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Liam Kitching’s first-half goal was enough for Barnsley to book a place in the League One Playoff final at Wembley Stadium and will face Sheffield Wednesday on Monday 29 May.