Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Erwin Saavedra. Photo: Facebook – Mamelodi Sundowns
REPORT: Sundowns star set for ‘months’ on the sidelines
It will reportedly be some time before Sundowns are expected to have injured international Erwin Saavedra available for selection.
Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Erwin Saavedra. Photo: Facebook – Mamelodi Sundowns
Rhulani Mokwena began his reign as sole head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns in the best possible fashion when his side thumped Maritzburg United 5-0 on Tuesday. Masandawana sit at the top of the domestic league table with eight wins from their opening 11 games, with the latest result certainly coming as a much-needed boost after the club’s elimination at the semi-final stage of the MTN8.
However, there were several players ruled out of this match, including high-profile Bolivian international Erwin Saavedra. Earlier this year, the midfielder shared an emotional message about his continued struggles with injury.
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He has only featured briefly since arriving Chloorkop in a R20-million deal, with the talented playmaker having been beset with knee injury troubles.
According to MTN FC, the latest recurrence of a knee injury will still keep him out of action for “several months, according to club sources”.
Saavedra has still been unable to hit the ground running at the start of his time with Sundowns, and in an Instagram post translated from Spanish a few weeks ago, he opened up about this unfortunate injury situation.
“For all the people who are being misinformed of my situation without knowing what is really happening, I must be the one to clarify that I am going through an injury that even I cannot understand or explain what I really feel.
“The people who know me and who saw my work up close they know that despite many injuries I was still playing, this is the first time I have an injury of this severity.
“I’m going to get through this and I’m sure I’ll come back stronger. I have faith and confidence that I am very close to my recovery. And all those who send me their messages of support I send them a hug and thank them a lot.”
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One of the other big question marks hovering over Sundowns has also been the absence of superstar striker Peter Shalulile. Last week, Sundowns coach Rhulani Mokwena revealed that he was battling with a complicated muscular injury.
It comes at a time when some reports and rumours had suggested Shalulile was not training as he sought to make an exit from the club, but on Tuesday night, Mokwena emphatically dismissed this talk.
“Hopefully, we will get him back as soon as possible, but he is not available until the Fifa World Cup break is over. It was a bit of a difficult diagnosis related to sports hernia but not necessarily sports hernia, a bit complicated and that’s why he got to see three specialists.
“Fortunately, he is an incredible human being, he is a good boy and without putting too much pressure on him, you can expect him sooner than we anticipate. It is not as big as we initially thought and the surgery was successful and, hopefully, we can have him on the green grass sooner than we think.”
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The somewhat fortuitous news is the fact that the 2022 FIFA World Cup break is around the corner, with competition only set to return just before the new year, when there might be a very different injury scenario for Shalulile.
Sundowns’ final game before the two-month Fifa break is against Royal AM at Chatsworth Stadium on Saturday (8pm).
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Sundowns made some big decisions this week
In bombshell news on Monday, Sundowns announced significant changes to their technical team, with Mokwena becoming the sole head coach, and Manqoba Mngqithi ‘demoted’ to senior coach.
The club openly admitted that the changes to their coaching setup were ‘necessitated by the poor performances and unconvincing victories’.
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