Mamelodi Sundowns are set for a crunch Group F assignment against Fluminense on Wednesday night.
So far, Al Ahly, Esperance, and Wydad Athletic have been eliminated from the prestigious global club competition, leaving Masandawana with the continental hopes. A win for the Premier Soccer League champions will give them a ticket to the knockout phase and a chance to get into the latter stages.
Ahead of the match, coach Miguel Cardoso has shared the latest on his star striker Lebo Mothiba who pulled a muscle in the last game against Borussia Dortmund. The 29-year-old was introduced as a substitute and went on to score in his team's 4-3 loss, but ended up with an injury.
‘He had bad moments in terms of injuries'
“I think everyone knows the quality of Lebo Mothiba as a player, you saw his impact in both matches, how he impacted the game, obviously for a player who had such a bad moment in terms of knee injuries, and came to the club to try and get to his best condition, it’s a player who invested a lot in,” he told the media.
“We believe so much in him, he is such a wonderful person, a wonderful player, that we need to believe in, as we believe in the others, we have to give him the respect, but unfortunately, he got injured in the last match.
“These kinds of incidents happen, I don’t know if you saw, in the match between Inter Miami and Palmeiras there was a defender that has a similar injury, at least the mechanical action seems similar,” he continued.
‘It’s not a big thing'
“When I entered the stadium, I saw the F1 track around here. I was thinking that when you drive at high speed, the possibility of having an accident is higher, and these players who play at high speed, sometimes accidents can happen.
“We don’t expect the thing with Mothiba to be a big thing, it’s not a big thing, let’s see if he can play the match or not; not yet clear that he can’t play.
“But even if he cannot, it won’t be a big thing. It’s just the period of time between matches are so small that even a small thing can affect the fact that you can’t play. We’re waiting for the last assessment, last tests, and then we will see if he can play,” Cardoso concluded.
