Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has provided an injury update on Themba Zwane, Iqraam Rayners, and three other stars at the club.
The Brazilians have battled injury setbacks to a handful of first-team players since the start of the 2025/26 Betway Premiership season. As a result, they have had an inconsistent start to the new season, which saw them eliminated from two domestic competitions, the MTN8 and Carling Knockout Cup.
The recent form has put immense pressure on Cardoso with a division of club supporters calling for his dismal. But the Portuguese tactician has managed to ease off the pressure after kicking off the CAF Champions League campaign with a 5-1 victory over Remo Stars in first-leg of the Second Preliminary Rounds in Nigeria last weekend.
In the past few weeks, Cardoso dealt with challenges of missing notable players such as Themba Zwane and Iqraam Rayners due to injuries.
The former Esperance coach has revealed that Mothobi Mvala recently underwent surgery, and he’ll be out for a long period, while Rayners, Zwane, Malibongwe Khoza, and Zuko Mdunyelwa are nearing a return to action.
WHAT MIGUEL CARDOSO SAID ABOUT INJURIES AT SUNDOWNS
“Unfortunately, we have more severe questions with Mothobi Mvala, who went for surgery last week,” Cardoso said at Chloorkop on Thursday.
“Even in the locker room after the match [against Remo Stars], we spoke a lot about that and said we should take Mothobi’s spirit on the pitch. We wanted to honour him with a good match. So, it’s the most challenging situation we have in terms of a long-term recovery for him.
“The other issues we have are smaller; we have Zuko already training normally with the team, and Malibongwe, who got a small injury on the ankle. It’s not something serious; nothing is broken.
“We were a little bit afraid that there might be questions with his bone, so he will come back in proper time. Then we have Themba; it’s not something he will finish in one week, but we don’t expect it to take long. We need to be careful because he is an important asset; we must bring him in the best condition so that he can be available to us.
“And also, there’s a question of Iqraam Rayners, who came back from the national team, and thanks to the doctors and exams he did, we were able to see that there are no more cardiac issues that will take him out of his career, so it’s a minor thing. He’s now starting to train with the team, and we should expect him to be available again for the team.”
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