Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi is saddened that his plan to keep defender Rivaldo Coetzee fresh and free from injury did not pay off on Wednesday.
The tactician waited until very late before introducing the defender in their match against Cape Town City on Wednesday evening, bringing him on in the 84th minute when their 3-0 victory was already assured, while their opponents had gone down to 10 men.
It was in an effort to keep Coetzee fresh ahead of Saturday’s Carling Knockout blockbuster clash against Kaizer Chiefs at the FNB Stadium but the defender suffered an injury that saw him stretchered off just minutes after coming on, messing up Mngqithi’s plan.
What makes Mngqithi sad about Coetzee’s injury?
“I wouldn’t want to talk about the injuries as such but it was just unfortunate and the sad part is, I had said to him I don’t want to use him in this match [against Cape Town City], that is what sits hard on me,” Mngqithi said after the match.
“I really did not want to use him up until a point where Aubaas was fouled, I didn’t want to lose [Bathusi] Aubaas, so maybe Riva [Coetzee] must have some minutes as an activation towards the next match and unfortunately he got that freak injury, I just don’t understand at the moment.
“Maybe after the footage I can comment on it, but it was just unfortunate and I agree with him, he just does not have luck. This was the first season I have seen him play so many matches in a row without any injury and being able to sustain himself.
The defender was enjoying a rare run of games
“He’s been training a lot in the club with Peter [Shalulile], which has helped a lot to be stronger, physically and to manage to play game after game, after game, Rivaldo is not someone like that, but again we have this setback, let’s hope it’s not something serious.”
Coetzee has had to deal with injury setbacks since he arrived at Sundowns in August 2017 and has made 133 appearances for the Brazilians.
