Stuart Baxter says Khama Billiat was withdrawn in the second half of the Carling Black Label Cup penalty shootout win over Orlando Pirates as a precaution.
The 30-year-old striker started cramping and was substituted before Amakhosi claimed a 4-3 win after the game had ended goalless.
Billiat missed a massive 26 games in all competitions with injury last season and it was thought he had suffered a recurrence.
But speaking after the game, Baxter explained his frontman would not be out for long.
He said on Soccer Laduma: “Khama was a precaution, you know Khama has been out for a long time, Baxter told journalists after the game.
“He came back, and we rushed him in a way to be available for the (CAF Champions League) final. He was sharp in the training leading up to the final and I was tempted to start him, but he hadn’t played any games, so it was probably wise not to give him more than a half.
“But we had planned that Khama would come in at half time and as it turned out, it was with 10-men, but Khama’s injury was not the injury that he came off with.
“He started cramping badly, which was an indication that fatigue was setting in, and we didn’t want the hamstring to go or the groin to pop so we took him (out) even though it was an important game, we took him out.”