Kaizer Chiefs head coach Arthur Zwane has explained the reason behind Khama Billiat’s early substitution against Cape Town City on Saturday.
Billiat made his return to action as Chiefs ended their 2022/23 season on a sour note, losing 1-0.
The Amakhosi star came on for the injured Ashley Du Preez in the 43rd minute and received loud cheers. His entry brought some fans at FNB Stadium to their feet.
The 32-year-old former Zimbabwe star had been sidelined since October when he featured in the Soweto Derby against Orlando Pirates.
Billiat was initially ruled out for the rest of the season in February after undergoing surgery on his groin. He suffered the injury before the 2022 FIFA World Cup break.
However, his quick return was cut short as Zwane took him off at half-time with Mduduzi Shabalala replacing him.
Zwane confirmed that Billiat sustained a knock before half-time. The Kaizer Chiefs coach admitted that it was a risky move to throw in Billiat.
ARTHUR ZWANE ON KHAMA BILLIAT
“It is sad when you see a quality player like Khama suffering from injuries,” said Zwane. “He was actually supposed to come back two weeks back. We anticipated that he should be ready before the semi-finals [Nedbank Cup], and we wanted to build him up.
“To be quite honest, even today, if we had all the other players available, we were not going to risk Khama. The plan also was to play him for 20 minutes to build him up going forward.
“Unfortunately, we found ourselves in a situation where we didn’t have a striker as he lost Ashley [Du Preez], and we needed a player of his quality [Billiat]”
In addition, Zwane went on to reveal what he told Billiat prior to the attacker making his appearance against CT City.
“I told him not to make too many runs because we are trying to build him,” added Zwane. “We needed his quality in holding the ball, connecting to whoever that is coming and creating space. We didn’t expect him to be explosive as we know him.
“It only took him 15 minutes or less on the field, and when I saw him limping, I said ‘here we go again’. We lost important players when we needed them the most. It was due to injury and sickness.”
Billiat’s contract at Chiefs expires in June, and it remains to be seen whether the club will offer him a new deal.
The CT City result saw Amakhosi finish the season in fifth place on the league standings with 40 points from 30 games.
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