Why the new Sundowns striker is yet to play
New Mamelodi Sundowns attacker Lebo Mothiba signed for the club in March 2025. Why has he not yet made the matchday squad?
Speaking to the media after last Saturday's 2-0 win over Cape Town City, Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso explained that the 29-year-old has been out of action for quite some time.
'Mothiba is a high-quality player who, unfortunately, comes from a long period of absence and non-competition. [He comes] from a big injury and a long period of recovery.
'We are patient, and he is also patient,' the Sundowns mentor said via FARPost . 'He is also anxious, and we are also anxious, but we know what we have to do and we are going to do it right, so that he can join us in the future.
'It's a player that we need to treat like a crystal, very carefully. But we are willing to do it and a lot. He is a wonderful person and human being. We are happy to have him amongst us. But we need to give him all the conditions so that he can recover and help us in the future.
'But I still have expectations that he can play for us before the end of the championship. For you to understand, yesterday [Friday], the players that were not with us made a joint training session with the Diski Challenge team, and he played 15 minutes in that match, free, without conditioning,' the Sundowns tactician concluded.
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