Molangoane was 'sick'‚ says Komphela on Chiefs winger's mystery absence

Joseph Molangoane has been “sick”‚ said Kaizer Chiefs’ coach Steve Komphela explaining why his winger has been mysteriously absent from Amakhosi’s line-up since a substitutes’ appearance in their first game of the season.

However‚ such an explanation‚ which Komphela put down to flu and a virus‚ hardly seems to satisfy how Molangoane has spent close to three months without playing a minute since Chiefs’ opening 1-0 MTN8 defeat against SuperSport United on August 8.

Molangoane’s mysterious absence has been the source of much speculation among the club’s supporters‚ especially since the little winger played 21 league and cup games being signed by Amakhosi halfway through last season.

“There is no issue with Joseph‚” Komphela said.

“He was sick. And then he got out‚ and then (Bhongolwethu) Jayiya came in and started playing. (Wiseman) Meyiwa was there‚ (Willard) Katsande‚ ‘Shabba’ (Siphiwe Tshabalala) and Gustavo Paes.

“He got sick and then the pity is that I don’t respond to certain things. And that is why sometimes as they go on it looks true. Because I don’t rectify them (speculations) myself.

“We need to bring a medical report (to clarify exactly what was wrong). There was a stage where he had flu‚ just after ‘Itu’ (Itumeleng Khune) had his chest problems as well.

“And then it was not easy for him to come back‚ but at least he’s starting to train a bit well now.

“At the back of that‚ I don’t know whether it was a virus or what‚ and he even missed some training sessions. He was sent home at one stage for two days – he wasn’t here.

“Maybe again that’s where we dropped the ball – we could have passed that to the public.”

Chiefs‚ with two wins from seven league games‚ meet Mamelodi Sundowns in their next fixture at Loftus Versfeld on October 17.

- TimesLIVE