Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena has received a significant boost with his star players returning to training ahead of the African Football League final against Wydad Casablanca on Sunday.
Mokwena singled out Lucas Ribeiro Costa, Bathusi Aubaas, Peter Shalulile, and Sipho Mbule as significantly improved their fitness levels.
Sure, here is a rewritten version of the sentence:
“I saw a much better Lucas, [Bathusi] Aubaas, Peter Shalulile, and Sipho Mbule,” Mokwena remarked.
Mokwena was particularly encouraged by Shalulile’s progress, suggesting that the Namibian striker could be close to returning to action.
“He was closer to playing in the previous match,” Mokwena said of Shalulile. “The unfortunate situation was that he would need to have travelled after we had left Cairo.”
“That would mean he would have arrived on match day minus one. We weren’t 100 per cent sure whether he would participate in the game.”
“Now that we had a medical check today and some good recovery for the boys, I saw him. He looks in a good space like many others… hopefully he’s ready.”
RULANI MOKWENA WANTS TO HAVE HIS BEST PLAYERS ON THE PITCH
While Mokwena is cautious not to make any guarantees, he acknowledges that there is a possibility that Shalulile and other injured players could return to the fold soon.
“Even though there are no guarantees yet because we’ve got quite a few training sessions,” Mokwena said. “For the mere fact they are on stage three, leading into the stage where they will work with the conditioning coaches to try to assess and test their level from a conditioning point of view.”
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“What is also important is that we try our best to have our best players on the pitch in their best positions.”
The return of these players will be a major boost for Mamelodi Sundowns as they take on Wydad at Loftus Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Kick-off is at 3PM.
Downs trail the Moroccan giants by 2-1 and will be looking to win the return leg to lift the inaugural AFL title.