Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso says Lebo Mothiba’s injury is not serious, but it will be touch and go over his availability against Fluminense.
Sundowns need victory to seal a place in the round of 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup, as they sit third in Group F, one point behind the Brazilians, who sit top ahead of Borussia Dortmund.
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Mothiba, who has featured in each of their last three games, the two group games and the CAF Champions League final, came off the bench to score the third goal in the 4-3 defeat the Bundesliga side, showing early promise for Masandawana.
However, the former Strasbourg striker appeared to have suffered a muscle injury, as he conintues to fight his way back to fitness after months on the sidelines with a knree injury.
“I think everyone knows the quality of Lebo Mothiba as a player, you saw his impact in both matches, how he impacted the game, obviously for a player who had such a bad moment in terms of knee injuries, and came to the club to try and get to his best condition, it’s a player who invested a lot in,” Cardoso said.
“We believe so much in him, he is such a wonderful person, a wonderful player, that we need to believe in, as we believe in the others, we have to give him the respect, but unfortunately he got injured in the last match.
“These kinds of incidents happen, I don’t know if you saw, in the match between Inter Miami and Palmeiras there was a defender that has a similar injury, at least the mechanical action seems similar.
“When I entered the stadium, I saw the F1 track around here, I was thinking when you drive in high speed, the possibility of having an accident is bigger, and these players that play at high speed, sometimes accidents can happen.
“We don’t expect the thing with Mothiba to be a big thing, it’s not a big thing, let’s see if he can play the match or not – not yet clear that he can’t play.
“But even if he cannot, it won’t be a big thing. It’s just the period of time between matches are so small, that even a small thing can condition the fact you can’t play. We’re waiting for the last assessment, last tests and then we will see if he can play.”
Mothiba will be aiming to continue his run with the Sundowns first team when they rake on the Brazilian Serie A side at 15h00 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.
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