The international goalkeeper Ronwen Williams could miss the CAF Super Cup against USM Alger on Sunday. Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso insists the club will take no risks with his players’ health.
Mamelodi Sundowns are preparing for the CAF Super Cup without certainty over their goalkeeper. Ronwen Williams has missed a third consecutive match as a precaution, after taking a knock in training, reports Pan Africa Football. The South Africa international shot-stopper has been unavailable since the club’s surprise exit from the CAF Champions League, according to Africa Soccer.
With only days to go until Sunday’s meeting with USM Alger, the CAF Confederation Cup holders, at Loftus Versfeld, no official decision has been announced on his availability. Coach Miguel Cardoso is keeping things vague, neither ruling him out nor guaranteeing a return.
Three absences, three wins
Williams’s absence now spans three matches: the two Carling Knockout Cup ties against Marumo Gallants and Golden Arrows, then the Betway Premiership clash with Durban City, Africa Soccer specifies. Sundowns won all three without him, including a 1-0 victory over Golden Arrows on Tuesday in the Carling Knockout Cup quarter-finals.
The club have therefore coped without their goalkeeper, which gives Cardoso room to manage his workload. The question is whether the staff will deem the risk acceptable for a CAF Super Cup.
Cardoso preaches caution
The Sundowns coach has not hidden his stance. “Look, we cannot risk the health of a player. That’s our goal here, to protect the players and the health of the players. Let’s see how things will progress,” he told Africa Soccer. He reiterated the point to All Football: “We cannot risk the health of a player and this is our role here, it’s to protect our players and the health of the players”. The wording is almost identical in both versions.
Those comments amount to neither a withdrawal nor a green light. They simply mean the staff will base their decision on how the goalkeeper’s condition develops, with no precise timetable made public.
Mokoena also in doubt
The medical situation is not limited to the goalkeeping position. Teboho Mokoena, the Sundowns midfielder, is also missing: he is suffering from a knee ligament problem picked up on international duty with Bafana Bafana, and suffered a setback after returning for the MTN8 final, according to Pan Africa Football.
Two members of the squad are therefore uncertain ahead of the match. The CAF Super Cup will pit Mamelodi Sundowns against USM Alger on Sunday at Loftus Versfeld.