Chris Cohen says Tendayi Darikwa will remain an important figure around the club after the captain suffered a serious knee injury which has ruled him out for the rest of the 2026/27 season.
Darikwa ruptured a ACL during Saturday’s game, bringing an early end to a campaign which followed an outstanding 2025/26 campaign in which he played a key role in City’s promotion to the Championship.
Head coach Cohen said the news had been difficult for everyone at the club to take, but stressed that Darikwa’s influence will continue throughout his rehabilitation.
He said: “The whole football club - players and staff, myself and Tom Shaw - were devastated to hear the news.
“He’s still going to be so important to the team being around the place. He’s still going to be the captain of the team.
“I’ve been in that position as a player myself multiple times, so I know how he’s feeling. The club will support him and give him the best care and attention that he can get.”
Darikwa was a near ever-present during City’s promotion-winning campaign and Cohen believes his contribution went far beyond his performances on the pitch.
He added: “We were brilliant last year because of the individual performances within it, and Tendayi was a standout alongside a load of others.
“He was a standout as a player, but probably more importantly to us, a standout as a man, as a captain and as a leader.
“He’s been an incredible part of this story and he’s still got a huge role to play. This is a bump in the road, but with everything I’ve just said about Tendayi the man, I know he’ll come back from it and I truly believe he’ll come back even stronger.”
Reeco Hackett has developed a strong understanding with Darikwa on City’s right-hand side over the past two seasons and echoed Cohen’s comments about the captain’s importance to the group.
Hackett said: “He’s such a massive figure in the club. Me and him have built up quite a good relationship playing together on the same side for the last couple of seasons.
“He’ll still be around the group, still be around the boys and still be geeing us up. It’s just a massive shame that we won’t have him out there with us, but we’ll be doing everything we can to get a few wins for him.
“He’s ever-present every day in training and he’s massive for us, so it’s tough to see him have this injury. All we can do is make sure we’re there for him when he needs us, and I’m sure we will be. I’m sure he’ll help us as well along the way.”