The Mamelodi Sundowns technical team has explained the reasons why comeback kid Bongani “Ben 10” Zungu is not featuring since his much-publicised move to rejoin the Brazilians last year.
The attacking midfielder has been struggling to break into the star-studded Sundowns since he returned to Chloorkop at the beginning of the season in August.
He has only played five matches since he came back home from Europe – he’s played only two league matches, a single game in the MTN8 and had two outings in the CAF Champions League against Le Passe.
Although he played a decent number of matches abroad, he had a difficult time settling down and had a number of disciplinary matters, most notably during Covid-19 lockdown when he was on the books of Glasgow Rangers. When he returned to the PSL, he needed to shed a bit of weight to keep with the high standards of his teammates.
On Tuesday night Sundowns toiled to a 2-1 victory over Swallows FC and questions were asked to the Brazilians head coach Rulani Mokwena as to the availability of Zungu.
“Bongani has got a slight setback with a small injury which will pull him back further behind in his progress. It’s a bit of a problem in the pelvic/groin area, the abdominal area, the hernia, it is that type of space. But it is not as serious and he should be ready to go very soon,” Mokwena explained.
Zungu made a name for himself at University of Pretoria before Pitso Mosimane’s Sundowns pounced on his signature in 2013. After three successful seasons at Sundowns, he moved abroad and joined Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes. He then moved to the French Ligue 2 with Amiens SC. He was then loaned out to Rangers FC in the first tier of the Scottish Premiership where he broke Covid-19 rules partying with a number of his teammates. They were removed from the squad, placed him in isolation and handed him a six-match ban. Upon his return to Amiens, he played a handful of matches before he was released to join Sundowns.
When he returned, Zungu was unveiled in stylish fashion at a packed Loftus Stadium when Sundowns walloped Kaizer Chiefs 4-0.
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