Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has admitted that the club are still waiting on the fitness of several players ahead of their CAF Champions League clash against Williete SC, with final decisions set to be made at the last moment.
The Brazilians travel into the second leg of their second preliminary round qualifier with concerns over player availability following a demanding run of fixtures across domestic and continental competitions.
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Sundowns recently navigated a challenging schedule that included the African-Asian-Pacific Cup, the MTN8 semi-final and final, and consecutive Betway Premiership matches against Golden Arrows and Richards Bay before travelling to Angola.
Cardoso believes the break came at the right time as his squad look to approach the decisive encounter in the best possible condition.
“We are committed, we’ve had a beautiful restart, we had a few days of rest, we needed it,” Cardoso said.
“Fatigue is sometimes more mental than physical. We played a very important match in the past, the intercontinental, the MTN8 – we had a very difficult semi-final also that brought a lot of energy.
“Those three matches with Golden Arrows, then immediately after, we had to play in three days, Richards Bay – then to Angola, then we gave some air to the boys so we could find ourselves in the environment to play this game in the best conditions.”
‘I’m not bluffing’
The Sundowns coach, however, could not provide a definitive update on who would be available for selection, revealing that the medical team would continue assessing players right up until the match.
Cardoso stressed that his uncertainty was genuine, dismissing suggestions that he was engaging in the kind of mind games sometimes associated with high-stakes football encounters.
The likes of Grant Kekana, Teboho Mokoena, Bathusi Aubaas were notably absent from first team training during the open media day on Wednesday morning at Chloorkop.
“I still have no news on who will be available. What I mean when I say who will be available or not available to be played, it will be until the last moment, and it’s not bluff at all,” he explained.
“Sometimes other coaches are bluffing. Like when me and coach Ouaddou spoke before the MTN8 final, people were saying both coaches were playing mind games, not at all.”
The Portuguese tactician added that he had only just concluded a meeting with the club’s doctors and that further assessments would take place before the team finalised its preparations.
“In this case, I just finished a meeting with the doctors regarding some of those aspects, and tomorrow again, before training session briefing, we will take players even on camp that we won’t know if they can be lined up,” he said.
Despite the uncertainty, Cardoso made it clear that he would not risk selecting players who were unable to perform at their required level, insisting that Sundowns would need a fully committed effort to progress.
“But the best ones will play, and we will not have players in the match, or pitch, that can only give 80% for sure because we need 100% from everyone,” he concluded.