Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi has opened up on George Maluleka’s injury nightmares since joining the club.
Maluleka started the last two games for Masandawana and has made an immediate impact, scoring once against Al Merrikh and assisting two against Swallows FC.
Many fans were asking why has Maluleka not featured sooner in the Masandawana side and Mngquithi explained he’s battled many unfortunate injuries – but it was never a question of his quality.
“I speak to George a lot and we’ve supported George in his journey with the other coaches a lot because him not playing at Sundowns was not because he was not capable or he he was not fitting in,”
“A lot of people make that mistake. It has never been down to that. George has been one of the most unlucky players I’ve ever worked with, ever since he joined Sundowns.
“I think on three or four occasions when we were preparing on match-day minus 1, he was already in the team, we’re going to play Baroka, we’re going to play Galaxy, certain matches that I can count, he is already in the team, in that last [training] match he gets injured. In a very sad way.
“There was the last one I remember, he was on the right channel of the pitch and he was trying to pass Safranko, last action of the training session, a very good pass behind the defence, then the next thing ah George is on the floor. What has happened, a quadriceps.
“He’s had those unfortunate situations and they’ve come thick and fast. He’s worked tremendously to get himself into the team. He understood very early how difficult it was to get into our team in the shape that he was in when he arrived.
“I’m sure you can see how much weight he has lost since he arrived. He’s working very, very hard. He’s a very disciplined professional, no wonder so many people are interested in seeing him play and also no wonder his teammates are also so supportive to him because of the journey that he’s traveled.”
🟡 George Maluleka in his first two starts for Mamelodi Sundowns in 2021/22:
⚽ 1 goal
🅰️ 2 assists pic.twitter.com/mqiWqcgubL— iDiski Times (@iDiskiTimes) April 7, 2022
Mngqithi also stated that Downs injury situation is improving, with the likes of Maluleka, Lebhang Maboe, Gaston Sirino and Erwin Saavedra will all soon be available for selection again.
“It has been a very rough journey where you’d say why has this boy so much bad luck because he’s been working very hard, very hard. Physically everybody can attest that he’s not the same George we’ve seen in the past three seasons,” he added.
“He’s a totally different player, physically. He’s lost so much weight and he’s looking very mobile and we’re just hoping he can maintain and stay on the pitch because that says to us we’ve maybe gained one or two or three more players.
“We’ve gained George now, we’ve gained Lebo from a long-term injury and Gaston is also coming back to help the team. Those are positives for us, because at the moment you are losing Rivaldo, you ask yourself what’s happening to us but you find yourself gaining a player like George, you find yourself gaining Lebo, gaining Gaston, Saavedra is coming very soon. Then we’ll have all the options we’ve had in the past.
“So we’re very happy for him as coaches, we’re very happy as club because I think he adds a lot of value in the club.”
