Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso cools down injury fears of captain Themba Zwane

Head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns Miguel Cardoso has allayed fears over a serious injury of captain Themba Zwane after being forced off in their South African Premier League clash against Magesi SC.

The 35-year-old, making his return from an injury sustained in the first leg of the MTN8 semi-final clash against Orlando Pirates, walked off the pitch injured after coming on as a second half substitute in the 3-0 win over Magesi FC last Saturday.

In the wake of Zwane’s latest setback, the Portuguese has provided a positive injury update on Zwane.

“We had total clearance for Themba to play, obviously that we knew that Themba, Thapelo [Maseko] and [Siyabonga] Mabena, were players that should not play more than 30 minutes. That’s why some of the substitutions were made in order to adhere to medical advice,” said Cardoso.

“Unfortunately, Themba had a small problem, let’s see if it is really small, I hope so. It’s not the same injury that he had [before]. He had a muscular injury on the abductor and let’s see what we get from there if it’s on the knee or the lower part of the leg.

“I think it was from a contact. I still haven’t spoken properly to the doctor, and I think they will wait to have an exam and a scan so that we can have the right assessment, let’s hope that obviously it’s not a big thing.

With the 2025 AFCON looming and games coming thick and thin at club level, Cardoso is optimistic the seasoned campaigner will make a swift return to action.

“Of course, every injured player is a problem and Themba comes from a long period of injury from last season when he had injury that he had. It took him a long time to recover and then he finished the season playing the Club World Cup in that level in all the matches – giving us important things.,” he added.

“So, our expectations were that he will be important for us but unfortunately, he had a muscular injury that took him out for one month [after Pirates clash]. Let’s see what he has, I don’t think it’s a knee injury or something like that.

“We think it’s something small that comes from a contusion or that might affect the muscle, let’s hope he can come back as soon as possible. It’s not a big injury for sure, we should not expect that” he concluded.