Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has confirmed Themba Zwane has been back in full training and is in contention for selection to face Al Ahly in the first leg CAF Champions League semi-final this weekend.
Zwane, 35, has been has been limited to just five games in the 2024/25 season due to an injury he suffered whilst on international duty with the South Africa national team, where in the 1-1 draw against Congo Brazzaville in their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in October last year.
The Achilles tendon tear injury recovery has not been rushed and Cardoso stated, together with Mothobi Mvala, they needed some minutes in friendlies before being thrown into this high intensity fixtures towards the business end of the season.
And he’s retiarted this ahead of the clash against the Red Devils, remaining mum whether he could feature or not as of yet.
“Themba is growing his condition [of fitness], I told you that we had plan in order to bring the players that were injured, now Themba is not injured, he is training normally and developing his condition so he can play,” he said.
“If it can be tomorrow or in the next game, or the following one, I don’t exactly know but he is available, yes – but for sure he has some restraints, mostly in the capacity to play a 90 minutes match in the level of a Champions League match.
“Let’s see how he can help us and let’s see how we can introduce him in the dynamic of the team in the best way, that’s what we have been doing in the last weeks, we are pretty happy… not only him but Mothobi [Mvala], not exactly at the same level but coming back.
“I believe until the end of the season, they will still be very important to us, that’s our concerns of course.”
Sundowns host the reigning champions on Saturday afternoon in Tshwane at 15h00.
