New signings Lebogang Manyama and Mario Booysen will not be available for Kaizer Chiefs in the first leg of their MTN8 semifinal against SuperSport United on Sunday as they lack match fitness.
Amakhosi coach Giovanni Solinas said the new signings need time to be integrated into the squad and will not be part of Chiefs’ match-day 18 for the game at Lucas Moripe Stadium.
“For the next game against SuperSport both Mario and Lebo are not available because they need to get more fitness‚” Solinas said.
“So for the next game these two players are not in the squad. We need time to prepare these players for the future.”
Manyama‚ especially‚ might take some time to nurse to match fitness‚ as he did not play for his previous club in Turkey‚ Konyaspor‚ for seven months.
The Bafana Bafana international attacker last played for Konyaspor in a 1-0 Turkish Cup win against Trabzonspor on December 27.
Manyama‚ the 2016-17 PSL player of the season‚ endured a frustrating period in Turkey‚ playing just 10 league and cup games‚ of which just three were starts‚ after signing from Cape Town City in September 2017.
Solinas said a major reason for Chiefs signing Manyama and centreback Booysen‚ who arrives from relegated Ajax Cape Town‚ was the heavy schedule the club will endure as they take part in the 2018-19 Caf Confederation Cup.
“For the rest of the season we need a big squad because Kaizer Chiefs compete for a lot of trophies. The league‚ cups‚ and we will also play on the continent‚” the coach said.
“So we will need a big squad‚ a strong squad‚ to manage the load of games.
“From December we will play in Africa. It’s a tough schedule. Because we play‚ travel‚ and there is no time to recover.
“So we need a big squad because in this manner we can rotate the players. This is why the club has brought the new players.”
Chiefs have had an unconvincing start to the season‚ winning just once in five league and cup matches.
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