Mamelodi Sundowns will give their all in the crucial CAF Champions League semi-final match against Al Ahly on Saturday, and the seasoned midfielder Themba Zwane’s experience could be the difference-maker for the Brazilians.
The reigning Betway Premiership champions booked their spot in the last four after defeating Esperance de Tunis 1-0 on aggregate and will host the Egyptian giants in the semi-final first leg match on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, scheduled to kick-off at 15:00.
Zwane has been out of action for over five months, having picked up an Achilles tendon injury during the Bafana Bafana match against Congo Brazzaville.
He was said to be in the recovery room for four to six months, and he has been seen in training with the team recently.
Downs coach Miguel Cardoso confirmed before their match against Esperance that ‘Mshishi’ and Mothobi Mvala had begun training with the team and are close to being ready.
“Regarding the players that are still out of the group, Themba is almost there. But he’s still not in a condition to participate in this match and not even in the second one,” Cardoso said in a press conference as quoted by Kick-off.com.
“Now we’re going to prepare to give them a stimulus of the game, not official games, because they should not participate in an official game before they have had the chance to play in a friendly.”
Former Sundowns defender and captain Nthethe, now assistant coach of Motsepe Foundation Championship side Casric Stars, confirmed that Zwane was featured in a friendly match against Stars, and he is positive that he is ready to return to the field of play.
“Zwane is doing well, I saw with the touches, the moves, because you know he is always on the move, wants the ball, he always wants to attack. The engine is still there, so he is pushing himself as well. He is the player that is always pushing himself to the top,” he said on the Soccerbeat Podcast.
The 40-year-old said he had a conversation with Zwane post-match, and the midfielder confirmed that he travels with the team, and he was hopeful to be featured in the Nedbank Cup semi-final match against Kaizer Chiefs last Sunday that ended 2-1 in favour of Chiefs.
“I spoke to him after [the friendly match] and he said he travels with the team and he was in camp [for the Chiefs match]. He said he had played two friendly games before our game, so our game was the third one. He thought that he would get a chance [against Chiefs],” Nthethe concluded.