Coach Miguel Cardoso started his reign at Mamelodi Sundowns with identical 1-0 wins against Raja Casablanca and Stellenbosch in the Caf Champions League and Premier Soccer League respectively.
Coincidentally, it was the club's summer signing Iqraam Rayners who scored the goals to help the Portuguese tactician register a 100% winning record.
Apart from pushing to successfully defend their PSL crown, Sundowns will be aiming at winning the Nedbank Cup. Cardoso is expected to win the Caf Champions League as well and have a strong run in the expanded 2025 Fifa Club World Cup.
To achieve his objectives, Cardoso needs to have all players available to build good chemistry. Themba Zwane is a long-term absentee while Rushwin de Reuck and Marcello Allende were injured against Stellies.
Sundowns injuries are not traumatic
“Let’s understand that most of these injuries were not traumatic injuries, so the worries are just that they are not there. It’s not a matter of preparation for sure, as we saw, for example, in the match in Casablanca,” he told the media.
“So there are long-term injuries that we have to wait for, like Themba [Zwane], like [Rivaldo] Coetzee, but they will come on the right time. For those, we need to provide them with the rest they need.
“There are few ones that are coming back quite quickly. Tashreeq [Matthews] is coming back quite quickly. [Grant] Kekana is coming back quite quickly. Mosa [Lebusa], we expect him to come back quickly,” he stated.
When is Allende coming back?
“For Marcelo [Allende], it was a small caution, he suffered a punch. You don’t control that. Let’s see the assessment on him, that he can recover or be present again very quickly,” Cardoso continued.
“I completely copied and agree with your question for the players that haven’t played for so long, like, Rush [De Reuck] today, it’s normal that he can suffer at the end of the game because the effort against Stellies was hard running. I’m so anxious to see the data from him, because for sure, he has many meters of high intensity and that pace.
“So I agree, just because of that, there’s no major concern. The concern is that we don’t have the players, but we have a big group. We are working with the other one so that we can give answers.”
Cardoso will be aiming at getting his third straight win on Tuesday against AmaZulu in the PSL.
