{"id":24962,"date":"2025-08-25T14:28:50","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T12:28:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/?p=24962"},"modified":"2026-03-12T09:58:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T07:58:22","slug":"injury-woes-hit-kaizer-chiefs-before-sundowns-showdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/injury-woes-hit-kaizer-chiefs-before-sundowns-showdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Injury Woes Hit Kaizer Chiefs Before Sundowns Showdown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Kaizer Chiefs will head into Wednesday\u2019s crucial Betway Premiership showdown against Mamelodi Sundowns with several injury concerns. This raises questions about their squad depth for the high-stakes encounter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-key-absentees-for-kaizer-chiefs\">Key Absentees for Kaizer Chiefs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Chiefs assistant coach Cedric Kaze confirmed during a media briefing at the club\u2019s Naturena base that newly signed striker Etiosa Ighodaro, alongside a few other players, may not feature. Their absence would be against the reigning champions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAden McCarthy has not trained since Saturday. The medical team is working hard to get him ready. We\u2019ll only know tomorrow if he can play against Sundowns,\u201d Kaze explained. McCarthy has been one of Chiefs\u2019 standout performers this season. He claimed man of the match honours in the club\u2019s opening two league fixtures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kaze also revealed that Shinga and Cross have both been sidelined due to illness over the past two days. Meanwhile, Ighodaro picked up an injury in training earlier this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Kaizer Chiefs are missing some key players for Wednesday\u2019s crucial Betway Premiership match against Mamelodi Sundowns, including newly signed striker Etiosa Ighodaro.<br><br>\u270d\ufe0f SABC Sport&#39;s <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Velile_Mnyandu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@Velile_Mnyandu<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SABCSportFootball?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#SABCSportFootball<\/a>  <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/H2XpAY98Zk\">https:\/\/t.co\/H2XpAY98Zk<\/a><\/p>&mdash; SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SABC_Sport\/status\/1959949831100633284?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">August 25, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-1311198600\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-long-term-injuries\">Long-Term Injuries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Bafana Bafana defenders Rushwin Dortley and Given Msimango remain unavailable but are expected to return to action next month. Their absence continues to leave gaps in the Amakhosi defence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chiefs\u2019 opponents, Sundowns, are themselves navigating a turbulent period. They experienced their MTN8 semifinal exit to Orlando Pirates on penalties this past weekend. The defending champions are also grappling with internal challenges. This includes ongoing contractual disputes involving Lucas Ribeiro, last season\u2019s PSL Footballer of the Year, and right-back Khuliso \u201cSailor\u201d Mudau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">League action takes us on the road to FNB Stadium this Wednesday! \ud83d\udd25<br><br>\u26bd\ufe0f Kaizer Chiefs vs Mamelodi Sundowns <br>\ud83c\udfc6 Betway Premiership<br>\ud83d\udcc6 27 August<br>\u23f0 19H30<br>\ud83c\udfdf\ufe0f FNB Stadium <br>\ud83d\udcfa SS 202<br>\ud83c\udf9f\ufe0f <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/mEe2z84dAO\">https:\/\/t.co\/mEe2z84dAO<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Sundowns?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Sundowns<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BetwayPrem?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#BetwayPrem<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/AreyengMasandawana?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#AreyengMasandawana<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LVXI6HoZwQ\">pic.twitter.com\/LVXI6HoZwQ<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Masandawana\/status\/1959866006014222545?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">August 25, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite these distractions, Kaze insists Chiefs are not underestimating their rivals.<br>\u201cAt the end of the day, you have to perform and do your job on the pitch. The circumstances of the opponent don\u2019t matter. We are facing an eight-time defending champion. Our players know they can\u2019t rely on the outside noise surrounding Sundowns,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-high-stakes-battle\">High-Stakes Battle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With both sides dealing with absences and uncertainty, Wednesday\u2019s clash promises to be fiercely contested. Chiefs will be eager to take advantage of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sabcsport.com\/soccer\/news\/chiefs-missing-key-players-ahead-of-mamelodi-sundowns-showdown?s=08#google_vignette\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sundowns<\/a>\u2019 off-field instability. Meanwhile, the champions will look to bounce back from their recent cup disappointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Related article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/kaizer-chiefs-sundowns-clash-set\/\">PSL Giants Collide: Kaizer Chiefs and Sundowns Set for FNB Stadium Thriller<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kaizer Chiefs will head into Wednesday\u2019s crucial Betway Premiership showdown against Mamelodi Sundowns with several injury concerns. This raises questions about their squad depth for the high-stakes encounter. Key Absentees for Kaizer Chiefs Chiefs assistant coach Cedric Kaze confirmed during a media briefing at the club\u2019s Naturena base that newly signed striker Etiosa Ighodaro, alongside<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":24970,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"Kaizer Chiefs will head into Wednesday\u2019s crucial Betway Premiership showdown against Mamelodi Sundowns with several injury concerns. This raises questions...","footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[296,275,288,274],"class_list":{"0":"post-24962","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-betway-premiership","9":"tag-kaizer-chiefs","10":"tag-soccer","11":"tag-sundowns"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24962"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24962\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24973,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24962\/revisions\/24973"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}