A Zimbabwean man has lost an eye in a fight over a vuvuzela, a state daily reported.

The man, who was not identified, was attacked at his home in Zimbabwe's second city of Bulawayo by three teenagers after he refused to give up a vuvuzela the three claimed belonged to their friend.

"One of them allegedly kicked him in the chest and when he fell to the ground the others also assaulted him," the newspaper reported.

"He sustained a swollen right eye that had to be removed," it said.

The man was still recovering in hospital, the newspaper said. His alleged attackers appeared before a magistrate's court in Bulawayo and were released on 100 US dollar bail.

The vuvuzela has been the defining sound for the football World Cup in neighbouring South Africa while in Zimbabwe it is popular among viewers at fan parks.