Dortley makes emotional Kaizer Chiefs return after long knee injury lay-off

Kaizer Chiefs defender Rushwin Dortley made his first appearance for the club since March 2025 in Tuesday’s match, with head coach Fernando da Cruz describing the comeback as an emotional moment for the 25-year-old.

Dortley has spent an extended period on the sidelines after suffering a knee injury. Da Cruz said the club’s technical team had been careful about deciding when the defender was ready to return to the starting line-up.

The coach said Dortley’s technical ability, vision and aerial strength had been missed during his absence.

“Dortley has very good technical quality, he sees good space, is able to break lines, to find the players in space, very good in the air, strong in duels at the same time,” Da Cruz said.

“It’s a player that we have needed for a long time, but because of his injury he needed time to come back.”

Dortley joined Kaizer Chiefs from Cape Town Spurs and had established himself as an important member of the Bafana Bafana set-up under former head coach Hugo Broos before his injury setbacks.

His lengthy absence meant he missed the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Da Cruz revealed that he had considered bringing Dortley back into the team several times in recent weeks, but had been reluctant to take the risk, particularly during CAF matches.

“Since a few weeks ago, I’ve had hesitations to put him in the starting line-up, especially for the CAF games, just before [Galaxy], what he’s shown in training, after discussion with the staff, we decided it was a good moment today [Tuesday],” he said.

The coach added that Dortley’s return was made more satisfying by the player’s commitment during a recovery process that included setbacks.

Da Cruz said the defender was visibly emotional after completing his comeback, having worked hard to overcome the injury and regain his place in the team.

“I am very happy for Dortley as he hasn’t played in a long time, he’s worked very hard and at the end of the game, he was very emotional for this come back, so I’m very happy for him,” he concluded.