Grobler set for a long spell on the sidelines

SuperSport United have suffered a huge blow with veteran striker Bradley Grobler set to be out for an extended period. The 36-year-old had to be substituted in the MTN8 Cup quarterfinal defeat to Orlando Pirates earlier this month.

The nature of his injury is unknown at this stage but it has been confirmed that Grobler will not play a part in the first half of the season for United. Matsatsantsa a Pitori will open their Betway Premiership account against Tshwane rivals Mamelodi Sundowns on September 17.

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SuperSport coach Gavin Hunt confirmed that the former Platinum Stars and Ajax Cape Town striker who has been unfortunate with injuries in the past will once again have to watch from the sidelines.

“No, Bradley will be out for, I would think, four to five months. It’s a serious injury, but it’s a huge blow to us. We just wish him well and hope he recovers well. He just had the surgery,” Hunt confirmed to SuperSport.

Record-breaking on hold

This comes as a setback for the son of Moroka Swallows legendary striker Les Grobler who is targeting Siyanbonga Nomvethe’s PSL goalscoring record. The United talisman is currently 11 goals shy of matching Nomvethe’s benchmark of 123 goals.

“I’ve never really said that I’m going into a season to score this x amount of goals. I’ve always tried to focus on staying as fit and healthy as I can so that I can be on the field. I back myself to score goals especially in this team where our way of playing creates a lot of chances,” Grobler said to The Citizen before the season started.

“Obviously, everyone talks about Nomvethe’ record which would be great (to achieve) but Peter (Shalulile) is there as well and he’s still playing. It’s something that would be big for me and big in South African football so I would be lying to say that I don’t want to get there.”

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Based on Hunt’s comments, Grobler might return to action in December. That means he’s likely to miss at least 11 league matches including the Carling Knockout which is normally played between October and December.