Mngqithi explains why Kekana has been out of action

Tuesday evening marked the return of Mamelodi Sundowns captain Hlompho Kekana, who played his first game in four matches.

The Masandawana skipper made somewhat of a cameo appearance in Sundowns’ 3-1 win over Jwaneng Galaxy in the Caf Champions League first round, where they won the two-legged affair by 5-1 to advance to the group stages of the continent’s premium club competition.

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Kekana did not play in the first leg and has been left out of the side in the last three games before the trip to Botswana. He was an unused substitute in a league draw against Stellenbosch FC and played no more than 10 minutes  in DStv Premiership wins against AmaZulu and Cape Town City.

His coach, Manqoba Mngqithi, says the veteran midfielder is important to the club and they will only get the best of his abilities if he is well-rested.

“It was nice to see the captain coming back today after a very long layoff and I believe he showed some freshness and it was interesting to see him, although the opponents were tiring,” said Mngqithi.

“The reason why we are not playing him is that we want him to be fresh. He may not like that he is not playing regularly but we believe he might be very important for us going forward if he is fresher.”

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