Kaizer Chiefs urged to manage workload and rest to reduce injury crisis

Kaizer Chiefs have been advised to improve players’ rest, nutrition and workload management as the club continues to deal with a series of injuries affecting several senior players.

Sports physician Dr Mahlane Phalane, who played a key role in developing the Premier Soccer League’s return-to-play strategy during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, said players needed enough energy, sleep and recovery time to reduce the risk of injury.

“You need energy to exercise; we often forget that, so they must be careful of their diet. Players also need rest and proper sleep … some of them are always on social media at night instead of resting,” Phalane told Sowetan.

He also emphasised the importance of preparation before and after training and matches.

“When you take actual sport and science issues, you also need to warm up and cool down … some people ignore this. There’s something called the elasticity index … when you pull a rubber belt, you can pull it and extend it up to a certain point beyond which it’ll tear up, so even with the muscles, they warn you before you hurt them.”

Phalane said clubs needed to monitor the total demands placed on players, rather than focusing only on the number of matches they play.

“Load management is crucial. Clubs must know how many hours are the breaking point to reduce injury risk. Load isn’t only about games … these players exercise before games, so they hardly rest,” he said.

He added that a lack of recovery could lead to overuse injuries, with footballers particularly vulnerable to problems involving the ankles, knees and muscles.

“Usually these are overuse injuries. Overuse injuries differ from sport to sport … in tennis we already know an elbow will have a problem. In football, it will be ankles, knees and even muscles; that’s why you’ll cramp and tear the hamstring or ligament.”

Chiefs’ growing injury list

At least five important Chiefs players are currently dealing with medium-term or long-term injuries, with most of the recent problems occurring without contact or during training.

Defender Rushwin Dortley, 24, has not played an official match since undergoing knee surgery in March last year. He is the club’s longest injury-related absentee in recent years.

Forward Langelihle Phili, 21, joined from Stellenbosch at the start of the season and scored in only his third Chiefs appearance against Mamelodi Sundowns in mid-August. Several weeks later, he was using crutches after injuring his ankle at training.

Lebohang Maboe, 32, was withdrawn from the Bafana Bafana camp after twisting his ankle during Chiefs’ goalless draw with Golden Arrows at Mbombela Stadium, shortly before the squad gathered.

Left-back Nkanyiso Shinga, 25, has not played since suffering an Achilles tendon injury on his debut against Richards Bay in March after joining before last season. Right-back Thabiso Monyane, 26, has also struggled for fitness since moving from Orlando Pirates to Naturena in July last year and was ruled out for four weeks last month after an unspecified training injury.

Chiefs said goalkeeper and captain Brandon Petersen, 32, would miss at least four weeks with a knee injury sustained in training. Striker Wandile Duba, 22, was also sidelined for several weeks by a hip and groin strain.

Flavio Silva and Ethan Chislett have missed matches this season because of training injuries.

The club’s injury summary lists Khanyisa Mayo as nearing a return after hernia surgery, while the timeframes for Maboe and Duba have not been confirmed.