Cardoso: That Makes Me Really Afraid

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has revealed a fear he has of the unpredictable nature of their matches at the moment, with injuries a worry for the club ahead of the CAF Champions League final.

Sundowns have had to manage players during a tight schedule which will see them going through a period of playing three matches in six days, including tomorrow's clash against TS Galaxy, which is their final Betway Premiership match of the season.

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Sundowns played Kaizer Chiefs last Wednesday at Loftus Stadium and drew 1-1, and then took on Siwelele FC at Lucas Moripe Stadium Stadium this past Saturday in a 11-goal thriller which ended 7-4 in favour of the reigning champions. Tomorrow, they travel to Mpumalanga to face Galaxy at Mbombela Stadium in their final league match of the campaign.

Against Siwelele on Saturday, Cardoso said he had no choice but to take out some of his key players, such as Teboho Mokoena, Brayan Leon, Nuno Santos, Tashreeq Matthews and Aubrey Modiba, with their final league game and Champions League final in mind.

After playing Galaxy tomorrow, Sundowns will take on Moroccan club AS FAR in the Champions League first leg final at Loftus on Sunday.

"There was a moment where I had to take players out. There were players that could be at risk of injury if I were to keep them on the pitch for longer, players that were struggling. Also the energy that was put for a match played in less than 72 hours (after the Kaizer Chiefs match). Obviously, it's too much to handle a 90 minute match. It was normal that in the second half the match would have to be balanced in a different way, so management of players had to come up as soon as we understood that it was not possible to make the result that we would like.

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"My worries come mostly from whatever that can happen in the football game in South Africa because obviously it's unpredictable. I never know when I am going to lose players, I never know when I am going to get players injured. There's a lot of things that can happen that we cannot control and that makes me really afraid. I think we are doing miracles on managing this team on arriving where we are after the season that has so many stories to be told."

Sundowns will be without Khuliso Mudau and Jayden Adams in their final league match due to suspension.