Kaizer Chiefs urged to investigate growing injury crisis

A former Kaizer Chiefs striker has called for an investigation into the club’s mounting injury problems after a series of absences affected key players, including Rushwin Dortley, Bradley Cross and Langelihle Phili.

Phili, one of the club’s new signings, is the latest player to join the treatment table at the Village. He missed Kaizer Chiefs’ league meeting with Richards Bay FC and has been ruled out for the next eight weeks.

Fees Moloi believes the scale of the problem may point to issues with conditioning, workload management, fixture congestion or playing surfaces, rather than simply being a matter of bad luck.

The former striker is particularly concerned by the number of unavailable players in the same position. He says the situation, especially among left-backs, should prompt Kaizer Chiefs to examine whether their injury-prevention procedures are working effectively.

“The problem might be with the strength and conditioning and load management progression at Chiefs,” Moloi tells KickOff.

“Not even five league games have been played, but there is already an injury crisis at the club. The training intensity might have increased after off-season. It might have increased too high when the players were not yet ready.

“If that’s the case, then you will suffer injuries.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean the technical staff is doing a poor job, but the transition from off-season from high intensity training to competitive matches… maybe that’s where they lost it. It wasn’t managed well.

“It’s strange to have about six players in a single position not available. These injuries needs to be investigated by Kaizer Chiefs. Find out if these injuries are not from last season, were these injuries sustained during pre-season?

Moloi also questioned when and how some of the injuries occurred, noting that they were not all visibly sustained during matches. He said identifying their source would be important if the club is to address the wider problem.

“We never saw some of these injuries happening during a match, so where are they coming from? How did they happen?

“If the club can investigate all that, then they will be able to solve this injury crisis they are faced with,” added the man who also played for Free State Stars and Santos.

The growing list of absentees has come early in the campaign, with Moloi warning that the issue could undermine Kaizer Chiefs’ season if it is not resolved.

The Soweto giants have played fewer than five league matches and will not return to competitive action until next Saturday, when they face Siwelele FC at Moses Mabhida Stadium.

Phili’s absence means Kaizer Chiefs must manage another lengthy injury setback as they prepare for that fixture. The club’s review of its conditioning and load-management processes will be closely watched as it seeks to prevent further disruption to its squad.