Head coach Nasreddine Nabi has provided an update on the recovery of the Kaizer Chiefs trio of Mduduzi Mdantsane, George Matlou and Tebogo Potsane from their respective injuries.
Chiefs are hard at work preparing for what promises to be a thrilling Carling Knockout quarterfinals encounter against Mamelodi Sundowns in front of a sold-out FNB Stadium.
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Ahead of that fixture, they, like their opponents, have several players who may not get a chance to feature owing to injury.
Although Matlou, Mdantsane and Potsane have returned to full training, Nabi has indicated that he would not take the risk to feature them as they re-integrate into the team.
"It's true that those players have been injured for quite some time. All of them are done with the injury, and now recovering, integrating with the group, training. But we need to be careful how we integrate them," said the Tunisian-Belgian, speaking to journalists via translator and assistant coach Cedric Kaze at the pre-match press conference on Thursday.
"For example, Matlou has been out for like a year. We need to give them time to train, get fitness up and get time to play friendly games, bring back their preparedness and get connected with teammates again before incorporating them in official matches again."
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Matlou had undergone surgery on his knee and was expected to be back in action around October, while Potsane, on the other hand, had twisted his ankle and was also expected to be back in action in November.
Mdantsane underwent surgery on his jaw after a motor vehicle accident.
The trio has not featured for Amakhosi in the 2024/25 season.
Nevertheless, having made light work of their Last 16 opponents SuperSport United with a 4-0 hammering, they will be hoping for more of the same against Sundowns.
The Brazilians walked away with a narrow 2-1 win the last time the two teams met, in a league encounter.
Saturday's match kicks off at 18:00.