By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Kaizer Chiefs have returned to training following last week’s emergency decision to temporarily close the Club’s headquarters in Naturena in the wake of a severe outbreak of Covid-19 that affected more than 35 employees.
Chiefs had initially wanted their matches against Cape Town City, Golden Arrows, Sekhukhune United, Royal AM and Maritzburg United to be rescheduled.
The Premier Soccer League (PSL) has not officially granted any postponement and is yet to comment on the matter. However, it’s the club confirmed on Friday that they will return to play on Sunday against newcomers Sekhukhune United.
In a press statement on Friday, the club confirmed that some players, who tested positive for the virus shortly before the Swallows match two weeks ago, emerged from isolation and rejoined training.
The club confirmed that they would be calling several reserve team players to work with the senior team members ahead of Sunday’s DStv Premiership encounter against Sekhukhune United at FNB Stadium.
“Given that the few unaffected senior team players and the juniors stopped training, and went into quarantine as per the NICD and the Department of Health protocols, the medical team and the coaches will monitor their condition very closely to ensure they are healthy enough to play,” said Kaizer Chiefs Physician Dr Hashendra Ramjee.
“And, with such a limited pool of players available, we have to also attempt to avoid injuries at all costs.
“More players and members of the technical team will gradually be coming out of isolation in the coming days and the players will be supervised and managed accordingly until they are back to full health and fitness,” concluded Ramjee.
Apart from Covid-related cases, other players who are still unavailable are S’fiso Hlanti and Samir Nurkovic due to long term injuries, Cole Alexander, who is suspended and Dumsani Zuma.
DSTV Premiership Weekend Fixtures:
Saturday,December 11
Swallows v Marumo Gallants – 15:30
Chippa v AmaZulu – 15:30
Baroka FV v Cape Town City – 15:30
Orland Pirates v TS Galaxy – 17:30
SuperSport Utd v Mamelodi Sundowns – 20:15
Sunday,December 12.
Royal AM v Golden Arrows – 15:30
Maritzburg Utd v Stellenbosch – 17:00
Kaizer Chiefs v Sekhukhune United – 18:00.