Both Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns were equally boosted ahead of their crunch DStv Premiership clash on Sunday.
Both Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns were equally boosted ahead of their crunch DStv Premiership clash on Sunday.
With the FIFA break coming just after two rounds of matches, Stuart Baxter raised some concerns that he would miss the chance to continue to work with the rest of the squad as they were gaining momentum.
The same could have easily said by the duo of Sundowns coaches, Manqoba Mngqithi and Rulani Mokwena, as the Brazilians also had to release their internationals.
Chiefs allowed seven players to join Bafana Bafana, Nigeria and Zimbabwe respectively for the start of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
Baxter had to make do without Daniel Akpeyi, Bruce Bvuma, Njabulo Blom, Austin Dube, Njabulo Ngcobo, Sibusiso Mabiliso and Khama Billiat.
Downs almost had the same number of internationals being excused to go represent their national teams: Divine Lunga (Zimbabwe), Nyiko Mobbie, Rushine De Reuck, Thapelo Morena, Mothobi Mvala and Thabiso Kutumela, who was later withdrawn after testing positive for Covid-19 in another round of testing in camp.
They are all important players and no doubt several of them will feature on Sunday when Chiefs travel to Loftus for a second meeting with Downs in a little under a month – the first was a penalty shoot-out victory for the Brazilians in the MTN8 quarterfinals.
But the FIFA break was gruelling as there were two back-to-back fixtures in CAF qualifiers with a quick turnaround between the games.
It’s expected that the regeneration approach will be crucial, with those who played in both matches expected to be eased back into an intense training session or risk being overloaded if that is not the case.
Apart from Kutumela, there is no indication yet whether these players have returned to the clubs carrying knocks, which is easily seen as a boost.
The two sides have four points after two matches and their clash will be an early indicator as to whether Baxter has hit the ground running or whether Downs will again break away from the chasing back in their title defence.
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