Staff Reporter.
Gaston Sirino’s hamstring injury, which saw him stretchered off against Stellenbosch FC in Wednesday’s DStv Premiership clash, might not be as serious as originally thought, said co-coach Rulani Mokoena.
Sirino looked to be in tears, his hands covering his face as he was stretchered off midway through the first half of the 3-0 win for the champions at Loftus Versfeld.
“It doesn’t look like a bad thing,” said Mokoena, who explained that Sirino had asked to be substituted when the first twinge of a tear before the injury could potentially get any worse.
“It would have been easy for me, after a very good start to the match, to continue even after feeling something slight and then it becomes a longer issue.
“He was very professional about it. He felt something small and immediately asked to be pulled out and that for me is incredible because very easy for him to stay on the pitch and be selfish and play, but you put the team first.”
But a full diagnosis is only expected later on Thursday, Mokoena added.
He also said that imports Erwin Saavedra (knee) and Abubeker Nasir (ankle) had played in a traniing friendlies and were slowly making their way back to full fitness, but were unlikely to feature in the MTN8 quarterfinal against SuperSport United in Pretoria on Sunday.
Meanwhile Sundowns’ new record R51-million signing Marcelo Allende paid back the first of his instalments to the DStv Premiership champions with a goal on debut in the 3-0 thrashing of Stellenbosch FC on Wednesday evening.
Allende, who made his Chile debut in December 2021, featured 20 appearances for Montevideo last season, scoring six goals and assisting another three.
Sundowns are the attacking midfielder’s fifth club after stints with Deportes Santa Cruz, Necaxa de Mexico, Magallanes and Montevideo.
He becomes the club’s fourth signing this window following Sipho Mbule, Ronwen Williams and Bongani Zungu, while Moroccan defender Abdelmounaim Boutouil will join from Botola Pro outfit SCC Mohammedia.
Ethiopian striker Abubeker Nassir has also been unveiled this window but his deal was already completed in January.