Tinkler casts doubt on Khanyisa Mayo’s availability for Chiefs clash

Cape Town City coach Eric Tinkler has expressed his worry over the availability of his top striker Khanyisa Mayo for the league match against Kaizer Chiefs. The Citizens will host Chiefs in a DStv Premiership match on Saturday, 30 March at Athlone Stadium.

Mayo, the club’s top goal scorer, is currently with Bafana Bafana for their FIFA Series friendlies in Algeria. Bafana will play Algeria on Tuesday night before heading home the following day.

But Tinkler has detailed how he fears the 25-year-old might not be ready for the match.

WILL KHANYISA MAYO MAKE IT IN TIME TO BE AVAILABLE FOR THE KAIZER CHIEFS MATCH?

“That trip to Algeria is tough,” Tinkler said on Tuesday. “Two hours from where he is to the airport. Six hours a flight to Dubai, a four-hour layover in Dubai. Eight-hour flight to Johannesburg, two-hour layover in Johannesburg.

‘Another two hours flight [to Cape Town] and I have him the day before the game. So it begs the question, is he going to be ready or not,” he said.

HOW ERIC TINKLER KEEPS GETTING THE BEST OUT OF HIS TOP STRIKER

Tinkler was asked how he continues to get the best out of Mayo, who is currently the league’s second-top goal scorer. With nine goals, Mayo trails Mamelodi Sundowns forward Lucas Ribeiro by one goal.

“Work rate, I think I have said this to the media before. When Mayo works, he works extremely hard and he plays with high intensity and he is active in terms of his game,” he said.

“Then Mayo is a good striker. Getting that out of him constantly is what is going to be the challenge.

“[I] got to be on top of him constantly. But the good thing is he listens. He is willing to listen,” he added.

The clash between City and Chiefs will kick off at 15:30.

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