Sundowns players down with flu ahead of rescheduled Royal AM tie

An outbreak of flu has hit the majority of Mamelodi Sundowns players ahead of their league finale against Royal AM this afternoon. The match was rescheduled to 3pm today after it was halted this past Saturday due to waterlogged pitch.

The match will be restarted and Downs might field a totally different team, but however, they remain “committed to fielding its strongest available team” when they take on Thwihli Thwahla.

The tie had played for about 25 minutes before the pitch became unplayable, and rule 14.20 under the “Unsuitability of the ground” section of the NSL handbook stipulates that the game will have to start from scratch.

“If a match is postponed or abandoned due to the unsuitability of the ground caused by inclement weather, the state of the pitch or for any other reason, but not because of insufficient illumination from floodlights, the League will set another date on which the match will be played.

In such an event all records of an abandoned match will be expunged except that any dismissals that occurred will remain in force,” the rule reads.

Sundowns head of medical, Doctor Carl Tabane said in a statement released by the club, that the club will take the necessary precautions.

“The players are being tested for the full flu-panel that includes influenza, COVID-19, RSV PCR to establish the exact cause of the symptoms.

“In recent weeks, the country has witnessed an overlap in all these 3 viruses, and it is crucial that we conduct the testing as they present similar signs and symptoms,” he was quoted as saying.

Masandawana will be presented with their trophy this afternoon, which will be their fifth on the spin and 12 league crown in the Premier Soccer League era.