Kaizer Chiefs co-coach Khalil Ben Youssef has provided a concerning update on attacking midfielder Mduduzi Shabalala, who sustained an injury against Mamelodi Sundowns.
Shabalala was forced off just minutes before the half-time break following a heavy challenge from Jayden Adams.
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Speaking after the 1-1 draw, Ben Youssef confirmed that Shabalala suffered a “big injury,” revealing a fractured hand and expressing hope for a swift recovery.
The Tunisian coach also criticized the tackle, saying this has dented Shabalala’s chances of being called up for the FIFA World Cup next month.
“I hope that Shabalala will be back as soon as possible, unfortunately, he got a big injury,” said Ben Youssef.
“His hand is fractured and I hope that he will be soon ready because this player was fighting to be part of the Bafana Bafana and to be part of the World Cup.
“And you have to know how we have to protect our younger players because football is not like that.
“You can’t expect this kind of challenge. And then you give only a yellow card and it’s not like that.
“We have to protect young players, now we lost Shabalala. And we were close also to lose Sirino, it was the same challenge that we had with Shabalala. So we have to protect our young players from this kind of challenges.”
