Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has given an update on the club’s long injury list, saying they have a big enough squad to cope with it.
Sundowns will play more games than any other team in South Africa this season, with them being involved in the CAF Champions League and also the FIFA Club World Cup.
They’ve already lost Themba Zwane and Rivaldo Coetzee with long-term injuries, while Rushwin De Reuck and Marcelo Allende left the pitch with niggles in their 1-0 win over Stellenbosch FC.
“Let’s understand that most of these injuries, they were not traumatic injuries, so the worries are just that they are not there. It’s not a matter of preparation for sure, as we saw, for example, in the match in Casablanca,” Cardoso told the media.
“So there are long-term injuries that we have to wait for them, like Themba [Zwane], like [Rivaldo] Coetzee, but they will come on the right time. For those, we need to provide them with the rest they need.
“There are few ones that are coming back quite quickly. Tashreeq [Matthews] is coming back quite quickly. [Grant] Kekana is coming back quite quickly. Mosa [Lebusa], we expect him to come quickly back.
“Today, from Marcelo [Allende], was a small caution, he suffered a punch. You don’t control that. Let’s see the assessment on him, that he can recover or be present again very quickly.
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“I completely copied and agree with your question for the players that haven’t played for so long, like, Rush [De Reuck] today, it’s normal that he can suffer at the end of the game because the effort today was hard running. I’m so anxious to see the data from him, because for sure, he has many meters of high intensity and that pace.
“So I agree, just because of that, there’s no major concern. The concern is that we don’t have the players, but we have a big group. We are working with the other one so that we can give answers.”
