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Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso says Khuliso Mudau will soon be back in the match-day squad after resolving his disputes with the club.
The Bafana Bafana defender had been absent from training since the start of the season having been frustrated by Sundowns’ reluctance to sanction a move abroad.
Cardoso confirmed that Mudau has now been reintegrated into the squad and is working his way back to full fitness.
The coach spoke after Downs eased to a 3-0 Betway Premiership victory over Magesi on Sunday afternoon.
"Khuliso is solving all his issues with the club, he's training fantastic. We are absolutely sure that pretty soon he's gonna be able to help, he's willing to help and the people in charge of the club will take it with the right responsibility, with the right commitment and with the right intention to put Khuliso Mudau in the service of the team,” Cardoso said.
“We are absolutely working together on everything and Khuliso is training very well. There were a few issues that most of them are already solved. So expectations are that pretty soon he can help but also you need to understand that Khuliso came from a period that he was training alone.
And you cannot put an international player, a Bafana Bafana player, exposed to a match when he's not still able to perform at the level that people want to see him.
“So, there's a step to make it, a gradient, progressive gradient that we need to give him so that he arrives on time and he, Mudau is there. I don't want people to see a player inside the pitch and say 'Who's that guy? He doesn't look like Khuliso' no, I want him, when he enters, he's flying."
Cardoso says he is taking the same approach with MLS loanee Katlego ‘Tsiki” Ntshabeleng.
"The same with Tsiki, I cannot put him inside the pitch when he's not able to perform because then the fans will say 'Ow, is this the guy we brought in?' No, when he can show the level that he has, we're gonna give him the opportunity and that is also man management from my part that I need to have it,” the coach added.
“Also, it's important that people understand that, being a coach is also being a man manager and I need to make that so that people have the right understanding of these things."
