'We are down to bare bones': Sundowns coach Mokwena on ‘Mshishi’ injury

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena has lamented the injury to Themba Zwane, saying it was a big blow to their plans against Kaizer Chiefs and has left his side “literally down to the bare bones” upfront.

Zwane suffered a serious head injury after a blow to the head from Yusuf Maart’s boot during a challenge for the ball in Sundowns' 1-1 MTN8 semifinal first leg draw against Chiefs on Saturday. Khuliso Mudau’s equaliser deep in referee’s optional time cancelled out Edson Castillo’s 61st-minute headed goal at FNB Stadium.

Mokwena’s charges were dealt a huge blow several minutes before halftime when midfield creative fulcrum Zwane was stretched off the pitch and rushed to hospital.

“'Mshishi' [Zwane]? — guys I sit here in every press conference and I’m asked how important Mshishi is,” Mokwena said after the match.

“He is so important, especially for two reasons. How we want to play and, second, because he is the captain. So losing him was a big blow.

“And we are literally down to the bare bones in the attacking department with the strikers and we have to make do with what we do.”

Sundowns are already without their main goal machine in Peter Shalulile, Ethiopian forward Abubeker Nassir, Thapelo Maseko and Thapelo Morena who are all nursing injuries and leave Mokwena with fewer options upfront.

“Mshishi was playing in the 10/9 position today. We don’t have Nassir, we don’t have Peter [Shalulile], we don’t have Thapelo Morena and Thapelo Maseko, so you can understand what it does,” Mokwena said.

“But at Mamelodi Sundowns I’m not paid to make excuses. I’m paid to find solutions and with the technical team we did our best again today to find solutions.”

Zwane’s injury is not just a blow for Sundowns, but also for Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos who has included the player in his squad for the international friendlies against Namibia on Saturday and Democratic Republic of Congo on September 12. 

“What surprised me more with that Mshishi situation was the foul didn’t even go to us. That was the biggest thing, with a deep cut that has had him hospitalised, but the foul went against us,” Mokwena said.

“That’s probably my biggest thing but we are going to the Fifa break now and fortunately also with Bafana it's friendly games — because we want Bafana to do well and we need Mshishi. And those [friendly] games are important but the safety of a player like Mshishi is probably more important than the performance against Congo and Namibia.

“Hopefully he can get some rest because the concussion for the next four days [involves] a bit of a precautionary type of measure to give some rest and be a bit protective and cautious — especially in this space we find ourselves in with a lack of offensive options.”

Mokwena was pleased with the fighting spirit shown by his players in scoring the important late away goal, giving them a slight advantage going into the second leg at Lucas Moripe Stadium on September 23. Downs dominated the first leg but spurned chances.

“The feeling, of course, is like a victory and I just want to congratulate the football club and players for a very good performance, very dominant and 71% ball possession against a team like Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium,” he said.

“I think we deserved to win [and] at the very least, we didn’t deserve to lose. Congratulations to the players for an incredible fighting spirit and showing a big heart for fighting back against all odds.”