Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has revealed why striker Peter Shalulile was not part of the Masandawana squad that locked horns with Cape Town City FC on Saturday night.
Bafana Ba Style beat the Citizens 2-0 in their Betway Premiership tie at the Cape Town Stadium, thanks to goals by Tashreeq Matthews and Iqraam Rayners.
Shalulile was absent from Sundowns’ league game against the relegation-threatened side CT City. The Namibian international featured in 44 games in all competitions for the Tshwane-based outfit this season, finding the back of the net 11 times, and contributed two assists.
The victory against CT City brought Sundowns closer to clinching the PSL title for the eighth time in a row. As things stand, the Brazilians are cruising nicely on top of the Betway Premiership table with 61 points after 24 matches. They are 12 points clear of the second-placed Orlando Pirates.
WHY PETER SHALULILE WAS NOT PART OF THE MAMELODI SUNDOWNS MATCHDAY SQUAD
Coach Cardoso disclosed that Shalulile was not part of the Sundowns matchday squad for the CT City tie due to a minor injury he sustained before they travelled to Egypt to face Al Ahly in the CAF Champions League second-leg semi-final encounter.
However, the Sundowns mentor is confident that Shalulile will return with the rest of the team very soon. He missed the CT City game as Sundowns opted to manage the slight knock carefully to avoid a prolonged absence.
“When we went to Cairo, Peter had a small thing [minor setback] that wouldn’t take long for him to recover and become a part of us for a long time,” said Cardoso.
“But that condition needs a little bit of time. We decided to consider his recovery full-time instead of bringing him in to play 20, 15, or 10 minutes and risking his health.
“So, we let him recover, and when he is 100% fine, he will be with us, and that will be pretty soon, I’m sure.”
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