Middendorp not pleased with premature update on Khune injury

Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune was declared fit on Sunday, but did not feature in the two teams named by coach Ernst Middendorp since.

The club published, in its official website, that the veteran shot-stopper had overcome a groin injury, which had cut short his comeback from a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

However, he did not even make the bench for the Telkom Knockout semi-final clash against Maritzburg over the weekend, and was again absent from the team sheet in the midweek league fixture against Stellenbosch FC.

Middendorp sheds light on Khune injury

From comments made by the German mentor, the update on the 32-year-old may have been premature.

“Let me give you an example. I went for surgery… nobody knows, a knee operation and that was last Tuesday; 14 days ago. Excellent work was done. I had now, after two weeks, a final meeting with the specialist on Monday and he said, ‘You’re 100 percent, medically, you’re fit’,” Middendorp told the media on Thursday.

“But he said, ‘Now be careful. Step by step, build it up. Don’t turn around; don’t kick the ball. Just be careful, step by step’.

“Medically, I’m fit but not in a way that I can run around and do stuff. This is the same thing that has happened with certain players.

Ernst Middendorp

Long way back for Kaizer Chiefs captain

Middendorp did admit that Khune was fully fit, as declared by club, but was not pleased that the information was made public.

“Most of the time this ‘medically fit’ piece of expression is forgotten,” he said.

“If you read it, the player is fit, but he’s not. He comes just out of a situation where he joined the training and put himself in a physically good condition to be competitive at a certain time, and at the moment he is not [ready].”

Ernst Middendorp

Khune has been out of action for the bulk of 2019, and has only made two league appearances throughout the year.

He missed the second half of the 2018/19 season after picking up a shoulder injury in November 2018.

The Bafana goalkeeper made a brief return to action in September, playing all 90 minutes in a 2-0 win over AmaZulu, but only lasted 28 minutes in his next appearance – a victory over Baroka, where he picked up a groin injury.

He has been fighting his way back to fitness, while Nigerian international Daniel Akpeyi has assumed duty between the posts with great aplomb.

Khune will be eyeing a return when Chiefs next take to the field against Bloemfontein Celtic on Saturday, 7 December.