Mudau sidelined with injury, Mokwena questions Bafana’s handling
Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rulani Mokwena has raised concerns regarding the management of defender Khuliso Mudau during the just-ended 2023 AFCON tournament.
This comes after three of the Bafana Ba Style players returned from national duty injured.
Masandawana coach Mokwena revealed that several of his players are struggling with injury issues after coming back from Africa’s showpiece in Ivory Coast.
Mudau limped off the field against Tunisia in their last AFCON group stage clash and had to be replaced by Nyiko Mobbie in the second half in their 0-0 draw against the Carthage Eagles.
Despite Mudau’s injury setback, the talented Sundowns right-back was in the starting line-up for their Last 16 tie against the 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-finalists Morocco and went on to feature against Nigeria in the tournament’s semi-finals.
As a result, that made things worse for Mudau, who returned home with a high-end Grade 3 injury. Mokwena confirmed that the ex-Black Leopards man will be out for about six to eight weeks.
With Mokwena claiming that he has smoked the peace pipe with Bafana coach Hugo Broos, things took a U-turn when the Sundowns coach accused the Belgian mentor and his technical team of continuing to play Mudau with an injury at the AFCON.
He went on to state that maybe they wanted Sundowns to lose the league after finding out how bad the injuries were when their players returned from the national team.
NOT THE FIRST TIME RULANI MOKWENA AND HUGO BROOS BATTLE OVER KHULISO MUDAU
In October last year, Mudau had to be omitted from Bafana’s international friendlies against Namibia and DR Congo due to an injury, leaving Broos with so much disappointment.
Broos went on to claim that Sundowns are bad when it comes to communication with their injured players. The 71-year-old Belgian mentor Broos was not pleased to have seen Mudau in action for Sundowns three days after the FIFA break as they locked horns with Bumamuru in the CAF Champions League.
However, Mokwena came out to clear the air, stating that his side has always been transparent when it comes to injuries.
RULANI MOKWENA CONFIRMS KHULISO MUDAU’S SETBACK
In a post-match interview after Sundowns’ 6-1 victory over NB La Masia in the Nedbank Cup round of 32 encounter, Mokwena confirmed the injuries of Mudau, Themba Zwane, Mothobi Mvala, and Ronwen Williams, who missed yesterday’s game but featured in the Orlando Pirates game over the weekend.
“Sailor [Mudau] is out, and he’ll be out for about six to eight weeks also with high-end Grade 3. We all saw when he got injured. He was still playing, which disappoints me a little bit,” said Mokwena.
“Some of it is not even by choice. I mean, Mothobi [Mvala] is out and will probably be out for six to eight weeks. Ronza [Ronwen Williams] is struggling with a shoulder injury. So, today [Tuesday], we tried to rest him and give him some time.
“Mshishi [Themba Zwane] also got a niggle. So, for some of the players that came back from Bafana, it’s not even about whether we want to give them a break or not. We just can’t use them at all because some returned with serious injuries.”
Mokwena continued: “Do they want us to lose the league? It is what it is, and we have to try to use the rest of the squad.”
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