Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has praised Zuko Mdunyelwa after his return to the field in Sundowns’ 3-1 win over Marumo Gallants at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Tuesday.
Mdunyelwa was injured on international duty for Bafana Bafana in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Nigeria in Bloemfontein in September.
The 26-year-old made his return to the pitch on Tuesday, playing his first competitive game since his injury and staying on the field for 59 minutes before being substituted off for Monnapule Saleng.
“We knew that it could be a little bit tricky to expose him to a 90-minute match after he got injured in the national team,” said Cardoso, speaking after the victory and justifying his substitution.
Unfortunately for Mdunyelwa, his recovery was stifled by other injuries along his rehabilitation process. His performance on Tuesday was just his fourth league appearance of the season and his second start.
“Unfortunately he had a muscle injury throughout this period that he was already being okay, so basically had a setback. And playing him today in a moment that [Thapelo] Morena is injured and we had to handle it a little bit, not risking anything on [Khuliso] Mudau was obviously comfortable for us but most of all comfortable for him that shows him that we trust.”
The Portuguese tactician stated he knew Mdunyelwa was ready as he had fared well in friendly games. In addition, believes his player had a good performance and could have had a better game if the team were collectively less sloppy.
“I think he did well. Obviously when you play systematically you get the confidence that is different from the one when we go after so many months without playing official matches. Anyway he made friendlies where he showed that he was on the level to play today and I think that if we had made the first half collectively stronger probably he could have done much better even.”
