Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has claimed Kaizer Chiefs were lucky not to have seen two red cards following a brutal 1-1 draw that saw defender Keanu Cupido hospitalised with a serious injury on Wednesday night.
The two sides collided in a Betway Premiership match at Loftus Versfeld Stadium and could not be separated. In a high-octane encounter that resembled a battlefield more than a football pitch, Chiefs drew first blood in the 25th minute through a Flávio Silva strike. However, Sundowns fought back to find a leveller in the 54th minute via Colombian marksman Brayan León.
The stalemate was overshadowed by the sheer brutality of the contest, which saw the match officials struggle to maintain control as the “war” at Loftus intensified. The physical toll was significant, with two players forced off and hospitalised following heavy challenges, while the Brazilians were forced to navigate the closing stages with ten men after Jayden Adams saw red.
Sundowns emerged from the battle having suffered what could be a big blow ahead of the CAF Champions League final following Cupido’s injury.
CUPIDO HOSPITALIZED WITH FRACTURED COLLARBONE AFTER CHIEFS STALEMATE
The Masandawana centre-back came out the worst from a challenge against Chiefs midfielder Siphesihle Ndlovu, and that forced Cardoso to replace him with Grant Kekana 17 minutes into the contest. Now, with the Champions League final first leg against AS FAR just 10 days away, Cupido’s chances of playing that game, as well as the away leg seven days later, look slim.
Left requiring hospitalisation following a fractured collarbone, the defender could be out for a long period recovering and might miss Sundowns’ pre-season. And while the clubs await official scan results, the recovery timeline for such fractures often depends on the severity of the break. According to medical experts at Health Partners, a “clean fracture”—where the bone ends still fit together like puzzle pieces—can see a player return in as little as four to six weeks.
However, if the bone is crushed or shattered, surgery involving plates and screws is typically required. In these more complex cases, the recovery period extends significantly, usually sidelined for three months or more, which would effectively end any involvement in the current campaign.
‘SOMETHING IS BROKEN’: CARDOSO ON CUPIDO
“When he fell, the arm was already [broken]. Something is broken, that’s it. But he didn’t fall on the arm. When he fell, the arm was already broken,” Cardoso issued an update on the defender.
“That is different from what happened to the player [Mduduzi Shabalala] from Kaizer Chiefs because there is an action that is a correct yellow card on Jayden. But when he falls, he gets injured in the arm. That is completely different.”
Chiefs midfielder Mduduzi Shabalala was to follow Cupido off the pitch while on a stretcher following a crude tackle by Jayden Adams. The two injury-forced first-half substitutions defined the game’s bruising style. It was a tense affair that saw Masandawana finish the game with 10 men after Adams was sent off, with 26 matches remaining.
CHIEFS NOT PUNISHED ENOUGH AS CARDOSO MAKES THINLY-VEILED SWIPE AT REFEREE BADI
While it was Sundowns who ended Wednesday’s tie with a man down, it was Amakhosi who took the flak for some rough play. Cardoso feels Chiefs escaped punishment, insisting some players should have been red-carded, as he also takes a silent dig at the referee, Luxolo Badi, who handled the match.
“We finished with 10 men; the other way round should have finished with 10 or nine men. But I’m not here to speak about the referee,” Cardoso added.
“I’m talking about how the people involved in the game have to handle it because it’s the responsibility of everybody. Of course, the group of referees should try to handle the game in a pattern that should promote the game itself from the very beginning.
“The referee can control the match, not allowing the aggressiveness to go to a standard of a level where nothing more is seen.”
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