AmaZulu co-coach Vusi Vilakazi disclosed that Bongani Zungu only had his first on-field training session with the team on Friday.
Prior to this, Zungu’s training had been limited to gym work, likely to assess his fitness levels and avoid immediate risk of injury after a period without competitive football.
This limited preparation casts doubt on whether Zungu will be match-fit for the upcoming game against his former club, Mamelodi Sundowns, at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Tuesday. The short turnaround time between his first field session and the match presents a significant challenge.
Speaking to the media on Friday at the club’s training complex, Vilakazi heaped praise on the new additions. “They (Zungu and Mthethwa) will have a huge impact, but obviously we are also aware that they have joined a moving train. It’s not that we are starting from scratch so the competition is at the highest level.
We believe in them, that’s why they are here and we also believe their experience will help us a lot.
We have a lot of youngsters as well, that we need to make sure that they gain the experience through [from] them so they got a bigger part to play in terms of the set up, not only to play, but also that they integrate the youngsters to be in the level where we want them to be.
We are grateful for the signings, we are grateful for the president for responding in that manner and look forward to working with them as well.”