Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has lifted the lid on Siyanda Ndlovu’s injury setback after the talented attacker missed the club’s opening match of the 2026/27 season.
Cardoso addressed Ndlovu’s absence after Sundowns claimed a hard-fought 3-2 win over Polokwane City FC in the MTN8 quarter-final at Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium on Saturday night.
Sundowns were forced to dig deep to defeat the Limpopo-based side and advance to the MTN8 semi-final, where they will take on Golden Arrows. The Brazilians needed 120 minutes to overcome Polokwane City, who fought till the end in an entertaining five-goal thriller.
In a match against Polokwane City, new signing Siyanda Ndlovu was one of the notable absentees from the matchday squad.
The attacking midfielder signed for Sundowns in the off-season from Betway Premiership side Arrows in a transfer move that was full of drama.
Before moving to Chloorkop, Ndlovu was poised for a transfer to Orlando Pirates, where he had already completed medicals. However, after failing to agree on personal terms with the Sea Robbers, the Newcastle-born star resurfaced at Sundowns, putting a pen to paper on a long-term deal.
Ndlovu became one of the most sought-after players in the PSL in the current transfer window following his impressive performances at Arrows under the then-head coach Manqoba Mngqithi.
In the previous campaign, ‘Skhwishi’ featured in 31 appearances across all competitions for Abafana Bes’thende, scoring four goals and providing eight assists.
WHAT MIGUEL CARDOSO SAID ABOUT SIYANDA NDLOVU’S ABSENCE
Speaking on why Ndlovu was not part of the match-day squad against Polokwane City, Cardoso said the 23-year-old sustained an injury a few days after arriving at Sundowns.
“Siyanda got the muscle injury at the beginning of the pre-season, so basically he didn’t train the whole pre-season,” Cardoso said.
“He started training with the team two days ago. He’s unfortunately in the very early days of adaptation to be with us. He gave us very good signs in the beginning, but he got that small injury that took him out for three weeks.
“But he made a full recovery; he’s training. Today [Saturday] we had a training match in the morning, and we didn’t expose him to that game because we didn’t want to force him. We want to integrate him well. There are beautiful signs; it’s exciting to see what he can give to the team and us [coaches]. He’s a wonderful boy who works hard, and he will be back soon.”
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