Royal AM co-coach Abram Nteo has given an update on Serbian forward Samir Nurkovic, saying he is in their plans, despite reports suggesting he has been axed.
The club is preparing for their second preliminary round CAF Confederations clash against Zambia’s ZESCO United.
The former Kaizer Chiefs forward was at training on Friday ahead of the Sunday tie. Earlier in the week, reports were that the club had given Nurkovic 30 days to leave.
However, Nteo said he was not aware of any decision regarding the forward.
“He has been training very well, been doing well, I’m happy with him, and it shows that he wants to play,” Nteo told the media at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
“This thing that has been written in the media; we are not aware of it as the coaching staff. Only management can respond to that.
“He will be fit and soon be ready to play. He is part of the team. That’s what I know.”
The coach further explained why Nurkovic was not part of the team against SuperSport United, despite playing 70 minutes in the Macufe Cup.
“We wanted to see how far he is in terms of fitness in the Macufe Cup. We were not sure, and we used him for 70th minutes, the conditioning coach is pushing him, and we could see him playing soon.”
Besides Nurkovic’s reports, there were also talks about the future of coach Khabo Zondo, and the former SA U/20 star says they knew the truth about the coach.
“We knew coach Khabo was still part of the cup. He remained with the team to stay with other players. We want to manage our squad because of the congestion of games, so the reports about him leaving were untrue, and you saw him. He is here.”
