Kaizer Chiefs head coach Arthur Zwane has explained why he's concerned about the fitness of Phathutshedzo Nange after the midfielder's performance during Chiefs Nedbank Cup win over Maritzburg United.
Amakhosi advanced to the Last 16 Of the Nedbank Cup with a 2-0 win over The Blue Army on Friday night, thanks to extra-time goals from Ashley Du Preez and Christian Saile.
The Team of Choice was reduced to ten men with 37 minutes in to the clash when captain Travis Graham collected his second yellow card of the game for a dangerous tackle on Chiefs' Mduduzi Shabalala.
Speaking to journalists after the match, Zwane heaped praise on midfielder Nange, who replaced Yusuf Maart in extra-time.
"There's no doubt, Nange is a quality player. Once Nange is fit he will always give you something. His contribution today was obviously quite good. He added value and he gave us the balance we wanted because Yusuf ran out of steam," Zwane said post-match.
"He consolidated the midfield with his experience as well. Whenever we were defending, we added numbers there just to make sure we cover the right areas. Because they were looking to play the ball to the top man and drop the ball into the second players that were supporting, and we wanted to win all the second balls."
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Zwane also expressed concern over the midfielder's injury record. Nange has endured a season ploughed by injury, featuring just four times for Amakhosi so far.
"I think Nange did quite well when it comes to that [collecting second balls] and I hope this will boost his confidence going forward and that he will stay injury free because I'm worried. Whenever he gains momentum, something will happening to him," Zwane added.
"So, I'll just pray for him and hope that this time around he stays fit. I know with his experience he'll help us be better."
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