Peter Shalulile DStv Premiership

The 2022/23 DStv Premiership season is one match away from its conclusion and the race is on for bragging rights as SA’s top goal scorer. Image: @CityPress / Twitter

Sundowns dismiss Shalulile exit talk, clarify injury

Striker Peter Shalulile is not seeking an exit from Sundowns, and it’s hoped that his recovery from an injury may be ‘sooner than expected’.

Peter Shalulile DStv Premiership

The 2022/23 DStv Premiership season is one match away from its conclusion and the race is on for bragging rights as SA’s top goal scorer. Image: @CityPress / Twitter

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.

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One of the big question marks hovering over Sundowns, however, has 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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Yet 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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Newly-appointed Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rhulani Mokwena. Photo: @Masandawana/Twitter
Newly-appointed Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rhulani Mokwena. Photo: @Masandawana/Twitter

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