Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has clarified the surprise absence of Khulumani Ndamane from the matchday squad during the early stages of the 2026/27 season.
Ndamane missed all the opening three matches for Sundowns in the Betway Premiership and MTN8, with Kegan Johannes and Grant Kekana playing as the two centre-backs.
The highly-rated centre-back joined Masandawana in the second round of the previous campaign after rising to prominence in the colours of TS Galaxy.
After signing with Sundowns from Galaxy, Ndamane instantly became a regular starter at the club, providing a different dimension in the build-up phase as a left-footed centre-back.
In the last six months of the 2025/26 season, Ndamane featured in 22 appearances across all competitions as the Brazilians won the CAF Champions League title.
As a result of his performances at Downs, the 22-year-old was also included in the Bafana Bafana squad that made history at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after reaching the knockout stage for the first time.
KHULUMANI NDAMANE IS MISSING AT SUNDOWNS DUE TO INJURY
Although Ndamane didn’t feature for Bafana at the World Cup, Cardoso has revealed that the former Kaizer Chiefs youngster has sustained an injury in the early days of their pre-season, keeping him out of action in the opening matches.
“If you think about our team, you may imagine how we are still settling down players, how difficult it has been to get the players from the World Cup late. We received the players late after a not-so-big rest,” Cardoso said. “Among them [the Bafana Bafana players], some were not in the best condition.
“For example, [Khulumani] Ndamane went to the World Cup and did not play a single minute. So his vacation, together with the entire World Cup period, was then extended by two or three weeks without him doing anything.
“So after he started training again, he got injured. Imagine, people say, put Ndamane to play. People have no idea about what they’re saying. Unfortunately, at Sundowns, I think the fans who talk too much are the ones who don’t really follow the team.
“They speak too much and understand too little. I think it is important to settle down the critics of the players and to deal with these things in a proper way. This team is under a rebuild process.”
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