Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso is crossing his fingers for a mild diagnosis on the injury that Themba Zwane suffered against Magesi FC in the Betway Premiership on Sunday afternoon.
The experienced midfielder returned to the matchday squad during Sundowns’ 3-0 drubbing of Magesi in the Betway Premiership at the Lucas Moripe Stadium. Zwane missed the past few months of action with Masandawana due to an injury setback that also saw him left out of the Bafana Bafana squad that played in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Nigeria a few days ago.
The highly-rated attacker made his return to action after coming on as a second-half substitute against the Limpopo-based side. After coming on in the 63rd minute, Zwane could not finish the match after appearing to have pulled a muscle. The Brazilians had to finish the last minutes of the match with 10 men after the 36-year-old went off the pitch when Miguel Cardoso had made all five substitutes.
So far in the 2025/26 campaign, Zwane has featured in four matches across all competitions, and he has yet to regain his best form following persistent injuries.
WHAT CARDOSO SAID ABOUT LATEST ZWANE INJURY
In an interview with SuperSport TV after the commanding win against Magesi, the Portuguese tactician said he’s hoping that Zwane’s injury is not a serious one.
“We are happy with the results, but it’s clear that we were not satisfied, especially with the players at the front, but the players on the bench could not immediately come on; we had to manage the situation,” Cardoso said.
“So managing the team and the players is very important. Sometimes, we think about the things that we would like to do, but we cannot do because we have to protect players that we need to protect.
“But the results are done, we could have gotten the second goal earlier. The message at half-time was a little bit strong, but it had to be so that we could wake up, and the mission is done.
“With Themba Zwane, we have to see what is happening. As I understand the doctors, the injury is not what he had before. Let’s hope it’s nothing serious.”
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