Benni McCarthy says Siyethemba Sithebe has been absent for AmaZulu through minor heart problems and hopes he will reject the reported advances of Kaizer Chiefs in January.
Sithebe, 28, has been one of the first names on the teamsheet at Usuthu since his arrival from Mbombela United in July 2017 and has amassed 132 appearances for the club across all competitions.
He’s played a crucial role for McCarthy since his arrival last year as they finished runners-up in the DStv Premiership last season and qualified for the group stages of the CAF Champions League for the first time in their history.
But with six months remaining on his current contract, interest is said to be brewing in his services from Chiefs, with the player eligible to sign a pre-contract agreement with any club of his choice as of next week.
But his absence from McCarthy’s squad for the final two games of 2021 was due to heart issues, not his future – the Bafana Bafana legend suggested.
“I’ve also seen a little write-up on Twitter if I’m not mistaken about Sithebe but as far as I’m concerned, he suffered an incident in his last game where he struggled to breathe,” McCarthy said in reference to his notable absence.
“Obviously, safety precautions matter because, for me, a footballer’s health is far more important than a game of football or winning or losing. We took precautions because he was struggling and he’s not a player that struggles.
“He’s obviously gone for examinations and they found out there was an irregular heart rate. So just for safety, [because] you see healthy, healthy athletes who drop down and lose their lives with cardiac arrest, we didn’t want to take that chance.
“We took precautionary measures and took him out as a safety measure. The heart is no joke so he is going through tests and medical evaluations and hopefully, he will be back in the new year.”
When asked by iDiski Times in the post-match press conference about whether he still sees him as part of his plans going into 2022, McCarthy said the ball is in Sithebe’s court.
“He is very much part of our plans, and the club is working 24/7 to try and work out the situation but at the end of the day, it is down to the player,” McCarthy confirmed.
“If the player has bigger ambition and he thinks the grass is greener elsewhere, then what are you to do? You don’t want to stand in anyone’s way because we want the best for the football club.
“We want the best for the players, we want the best for everyone. If the player is getting advice from outside people that is best to go there than to stay here, then so be it. We move on.
“There’s hungry, young talent that we can use, so that’s the situation. But he is out because of a minor heart problem, but he will back to 100% in the new year.”
