Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has explained the absence of star midfielder Teboho Mokoena from the squad that secured a victory against Magesi FC in the Betway Premiership on Sunday.
The Bafana Bafana star was a notable absentee when Masandawana beat Magesi 3-0 at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville.
The win saw Sundowns move to the top of the Betway Premiership with 14 points from six games. They are now a point above Kaizer Chiefs and Sekhukhune United, who have played a game less.
But there were questions on the whereabouts of star midfielder Mokoena, who was not part of the match-day squad.
Cardoso clarified that the decision to rest Mokoena was purely a matter of player management, citing the player’s relentless schedule. He pointed to Mokoena’s back-to-back 90-minute matches against Lesotho and Nigeria in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers with Bafana Bafana, coupled with his consistent game time for Sundowns, as the primary reasons for the omission.
The coach emphasised the need to manage player fatigue carefully, especially with a packed schedule of matches every few days, to ensure the team remains in top form.
PLAYER MANAGEMENT LED TO TEBOHO MOKOENA OMISSION, SAYS MIGUEL CARDOSO
“Look, there were three players, two of them who didn’t enter the [team] list. But they were managed by the level of fatigue they showed and mostly considering what we have ahead [many games],” Cardoso explained to journalists.
“Teboho, as you know, played two 90-minute matches with the national team. Before he went to the national team, he played for us, and he didn’t stop. He didn’t play against Stellenbosch FC as a first eleven, but he had played before.
“So, as a coach, I need to manage the players in order to have them ready. We have Wednesday, Sunday, Wednesday, and Saturday, and we are going to go until, as I said at the beginning of October.
“Until the winter break, there is no stop. Having a chance to rotate players means we have trust in the ones that play. Thank God there are no issues with Teboho, and for sure, you will see him on the pitch in the next matches.”
The Tshwane giants are set to travel to Mangaung on Wednesday, 17 September, to face Marumo Gallants in their next league game,
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