Langelihle Phili: When will the injured Kaizer Chiefs star return?

Langelihle Phili made an immediate impact at Kaizer Chiefs after joining them from Stellenbosch.

His best outing, arguably, was in the Premier Soccer League against Mamelodi Sundowns. The 21-year-old twisted his ankle in training and has since missed the 2-2 draw with Richards Bay, which was followed by a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Siwelele last weekend.

Amakhosi supporters expected to see Phili back in action on Sunday, but that didn’t happen.

The tactician has now explained the extent of the injury and why his winger might spend more time on the sidelines. He has further revealed what the Soweto giants are missing after the setback.

Latest on Phili after injury setback

“He is an important player for us; that’s why we signed him,” Da Cruz confirmed in the presser.

“For the moment, he was not able to walk for 10 days, but now starting his rehabilitation. Technically, he is a good player. He is a player who is able to make deep runs. He is a player who is able to eliminate in one-v-ones as well.

“But we also have other players. We work, we have trust in them, and we create chances – that’s not the problem. The problem is we don’t have a killer instinct inside the two boxes,” he added.

More on injured players

Da Cruz further hinted that Phili might be among the players who will return to action after the international break.

“We’re starting to recover injured players. Reeve Frolser played [on Sunday] and Bradley Cross is very close to playing again. I think he will play before the FIFA break, and during the break we will recover the other players, so I think it would be a good thing for us,” he explained.

Paseka Mako and Nkanyiso Shinga are also nursing injuries.