CAPE TOWN – Mamelodi Sundowns are sweating over the fitness of influential trio Mosa Lebusa, Themba Zwane and Khuliso Mudau ahead of Saturday’s MTN8 first semi-final tie away to Golden Arrows in Durban.
Right-back Mudau suffered a hamstring injury in the mid-week Dstv Premiership stalemate against Chippa United, while captain Lebusa and playmaker Zwane did not even make the trip to Gqeberha.
Lebusa suffered a quad strain last Friday in the season opener against AmaZulu, while Zwane is struggling with a knee injury.
"They must still be assessed by our medical department and then closer to the match we’ll be able to make a decision," said Sundowns coach Rhulani Mokwena said on Thursday.
Mokwena claimed Sundowns were still recovering from a disruptive pre-season, with players having to isolate on various occasions due to Covid-19.
"At this stage of the season, it is not always about the highest level of fitness. I think the condition of the players is OK, but it can still improve. There might be other teams that are looking very sharp and are already at the highest gear, but we know our marathon.
"We know that we have to build the fitness levels, until we reach the point where we want to arrive at. We wanted to progressively load our players to work in a way that would allow us an element of freshness, even late in the season.
"We are trying to build that, we don’t want to put the cart before the horse and ensure we have a good base and we can build our performances on that."
Furthermore, Mokwena is well aware that Sundowns will not have it all their own way in KwaZulu-Natal this weekend against an Arrows team that enjoys taking the game to the opposition, and who will be looking to bounce back from their mid-week defeat to SuperSport United.
"Traditionally Arrows have had a distinctive way of playing. A very Arrows way of playing, and I think it is synonymous with how they are known. They play with more exuberance, a little bit off the cuff.
"And even when they try to have some form of organisation, they still try to maintain a little bit of flair and expressive abilities of their players. And sometimes that's where the difficulty is, to try and pre-plan for instinctive actions. That becomes very difficult. They are a very good team and have a very good coach and assistant."
Sundowns are desperate for success in the MTN8 as it remains the only trophy that they haven't won over the past few years.
IOL Sport