Itumeleng Khune eyes Kaizer Chiefs record set by Doctor Khumalo

With his long-awaited return from injury, Itumeleng Khune etched his name into the record books once more by equalling a record set by a Kaizer Chiefs stalwart.

The veteran goalkeeper overcame a shoulder injury that kept him out of most of the previous campaign to return to action against AmaZulu on Heritage Day.

Record-equalling return for Kaizer Chiefs stalwart

In the process, he reached a mark by former Amakhosi midfielder, Thabo Mooki, who represented the team in 13 consecutive seasons from the PSL’s inception in 1996, up until he hung up his boots in 2009.

Khune was around in the latter end of “Tsiki-Tsiki’s” career, and credits him with playing a big role in priming him for the future.

“Thabo is one of the players who has guided and assisted me throughout my career. He, along with Doctor Khumalo, have played a major role in my career.”

Itumeleng Khune

Club record within reach for Itumeleng Khune

As far as individual records are concerned, next on the agenda for Khune is surpassing Doctor Khumalo for games played for Kaizer Chiefs.

The legendary midfielder played over 300 league games for the club between 1987 and 2004.

Khune is not too far from that mark, having made his 256th league appearance when he turned up against AmaZulu.

“As a goalkeeper, I need to work harder and remain focused. A target could be to play as many games for the club as Khumalo has played.”

Itumeleng Khune

Chiefs are back in league action on Saturday, welcoming Baroka to FNB Stadium.

Khune believes he and his teammates are well prepared for the challenged posed by the unpredictable Limpopo-based outfit.

“It’s going to be a difficult game against Baroka, but we are preparing well for it. The AmaZulu game is hopefully the start of good things to come.

“We lost before that against Polokwane City, and we showed character to bounce back and win against AmaZulu. We go into this game against Baroka with renewed positivity.”

Itumeleng Khune