Mamelodi Sundowns’ Mothobi Mvala proving fitness after injury, says Miguel Cardoso

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso says Mothobi Mvala has demonstrated that he is back at the highest level after helping the club reach the Carling Knockout Cup semi-finals.

The centre-back completed 90 minutes in Tuesday’s victory over Golden Arrows, his second full match of the season. Iqraam Rayners scored the only goal to secure Sundowns’ progress in the competition.

The appearance was Mvala’s fifth across all competitions this term. The 32-year-old has returned from a long-term injury which ruled him out for most of the previous campaign and contributed to him losing his place in the senior national team.

Cardoso said Mvala’s performance was particularly significant because he kept Golden Arrows’ leading striker, Junior Dion, under control. The coach also highlighted the defender’s resilience, saying his team-mate is known in the dressing room as “the dragon”.

“I think today Mothobi proved to everybody that he is in his level,” said Cardoso.

“I remember that I saw him getting injured. He got injured when he played away in Raja Casablanca for the Champions League.

“I was watching that match on the stands because after that match, I came in the club, as you remember. Since then, that was a hard, hard, process and as you remember, also he got a setback, a strong setback when we played Arrows away. And it was a long way for him.

“But do you know what is his name in the locker room? His name is ‘the dragon’, and that comes also from exactly his mentality. He’s a very strong human being, very strong player, of course.

“And just due to the love that we in the club give to all our players, especially the ones that are injured or on injured processes, and due to the work, of course, that he did himself by giving a lot of effort to his recovery, and the work that was done by the medical department was able to bring him to the level where he is now.”

Cardoso said injuries to Grant Kekana and Keegan Johannes had created further opportunities for Mvala, who had remained patient while waiting for his chance.

“In football, moments appear like that when Grant [Kekana] got injured, when Keegan [Johannes] got injured, of course more opportunities came for Mothobi,” he said.

“Mothobi is a strong player. He never gives up. He was waiting his moment. He knows that in Sundowns it’s like that. There’s a moment that will appear. It can take one month, two months, three months, but it will appear.”

Cardoso praised Mvala’s display against Dion, describing the striker as highly intelligent in his movement into space and inside the penalty area. Sundowns had specifically studied those runs after recently struggling against them.

“I think both of them played very well, and I think he’s back. Let’s see, of course, what will happen in the future.”