By Dylan Bettencourt
- Mamelodi Sundowns will play AS FAR in Rabat on Sunday and will likely lose Aubrey Modiba to a hamstring injury.
- Head coach Miguel Cardoso blames the injury on a heavy workload after Masandawana played seven league games in 21 days.
Head coach Miguel Cardoso expects Aubrey Modiba to miss the Champions League final second leg against AS FAR in Rabat on Sunday.
Modiba scored a brilliant free kick to give Sundowns a one-goal lead in the first leg at Loftus Stadium. He limped off the pitch near the end of the game with a suspected hamstring injury. No opponent touched him.
“Let’s see what will happen with Aubrey, but probably we will lose him,” Cardoso said.
The injury is a big worry for Bafana Bafana before the 2026 Fifa World Cup finals.
Cardoso blames the injury on a heavy workload. Sundowns played seven Betway Premiership games in 21 days.
The team wants to win their second Champions League title exactly 10 years after their first.
Their run of eight league titles in a row could end after losing to TS Galaxy. They let in three goals and scored two.
Sundowns will still win the league if Orlando Pirates fail to beat ORBIT College on Saturday.
Sundowns missed chances to score a second goal at Loftus. The second half started late because the video assistant referee system broke. Both teams agreed to play without it.
Cardoso said they struggled to pick up the pace at first but played a beautiful second half.
“The most important thing is that we know we can compete at this level with the best teams,” he said.
Sundowns must play for a win in Morocco. Away goals count double. If Sundowns score in Rabat, AS FAR will need to score three times to win.
“It is an advantage the team needs to fight for. It will be a tough match, as this one was,” Cardoso said.
Pictured above: Mamelodi Sundowns players celebrating.
Image source: @Masandawana
