The Fiji international disclocated his wrist during Waitakere’s O-League clash with Tefana in Papeete, Tahiti last month. The injury wrapped up a miserable day for player-coach Neil Emblen as United went on to lose the match 3-1 in a result that went some way towards preventing them from topping the group.
Krishna was missed greatly by a lacklustre Waitakere in their subsequent defeat to local rivals Auckland City, which confirmed Emblen’s side could not win Group B and would therefore not get the chance to compete in the two-legged final.
Waitakere media officer Terry Maddaford says Krishna is due to have his wrist operated on sometime later this month.
“Roy was injured in Tahiti when he fell heavily on the artificial pitch,” he says.
“He has badly dislocated his wrist and is in plaster. When that comes off in about four weeks he is due to have another operation and will then have a soft plaster. That might allow him to play but Waitakere’s season could be over by then.”
Maddaford says Krishna was disappointed to miss out on Waitakere’s crucial O-League clash against Auckland, which United had to win to keep their final hopes alive.
“He is still in good spirits but is frustrated he can’t play. His absence has made a real difference at Waitakere as they have lost a couple of games since then.”
Emblen admitted that the Waitakere attack was not as threatening without Krishna after the Auckland match.
“It’s blatant for everyone to see that we miss Roy when he doesn’t play,” Emblen says.
“And Sean Lovemore as well, he’s not available after being involved with the Wellington Phoenix and we’ve missed them both in the last few weeks. We’ve got to learn to deal without them and we’ve just seen how difficult it can be,” Emblen says.
“The lads will keep going and we’ve still got plenty to play for this year but, unfortunately, the big prize is now gone.”
It is not just Waitakere who are hoping Krishna makes a swift recovery.
Hopes are also high within Fiji for the star to recover in time to play for his country at the 2011 Pacific Games, which take place in Noumea, New Caledonia during August and September.
The stakes are high at the event as the top-three placed teams will go on to play-off against New Zealand to find the team who will represent Oceania in the latter stages of qualifying for FIFA World Cup 2014 Brazil.
For more on Fiji football go to www.fijifootball.com.fj