adminSenior Sports Reporter
LESS than a month before the African Champions League clash against South African side Mamelodi Sundowns, Chicken Inn coach Joey Antipas remains optimistic on the fitness of two of his key midfielders Danny Phiri and Clemence Matawu.
Phiri is still having problems with muscles on his right ankle, the same injury which saw him being unable to lead the Warriors at the African Nations Championships which are underway in Rwanda. Matawu is down with a calf problem and from the look of things they might not feature at all against Sundowns next month.
Another player that Chicken Inn registered, defender Teenage Hadebe has not started training as he is sidelined by a knee injury but Tafadzwa Kutinyu who was dropped from the national team due to an injury has started full training.
Antipas is, however, optimistic that skipper Phiri and Matawu would have made progress by the time of the team’s maiden appearance in continental football.
While he had high hopes for the fitness of the duo, Antipas has conceded that it was equally difficult to plan for the high profile fixture without four of his players who are in Rwanda.
“Deco is not training, he has problems with his tendon on the right ankle, he needs total rest. Matawu is having problems with his calf, he is having intensive physiotherapy and doing light training. Kutinyu is in good shape, Teenage Hadebe has not pitched up for training. He has a knee problem and needs monitoring,’’ said Antipas.
The Gamecocks coach took time to watch Sundowns in their Absa Premiership 2-1 victory over University of Pretoria last Saturday at Lucas Moripe Stadium. He believes the only way they can succeed against the Brazilians was not to afford them too much respect.
“I watched Sundowns play against Tuks. They are a good side, are the team to beat in South Africa, they have all the riches in terms of players. They have a fantastic squad, it is a big task for us. We have to get ourselves organised as possible and give them a good run for their money,’’ said Antipas, adding:
“It is difficult to say whether we are better than them because they are halfway through the season. We don’t have to give them too much respect, we will try to pit our wits and skills against them and see how it goes.’’
Antipas took charge of the team’s training sessions at Hartsfield Rugby Ground from Monday and expressed satisfaction at the way his players were applying themselves. The preparations were boosted by the availability of veteran striker Obadiah Tarumbwa who is yet to sign a contract with Chicken Inn.
Tarumbwa, however, started training with the Gamecocks on Wednesday.
Chicken Inn leave the country tomorrow for a four-team competition in Ndola, Zambia where they will play against Zesco, Zanaco and Tanzanian champions Young Africans, an event Antipas believes should give them the much needed game time they require before they come up against the Brazilians.
The Zimbabwean champions meet the Absa Premiership runners-up from last season in the preliminary round during the second weekend of February with the second leg two weeks later in South Africa.
Online Reporter