Kaizer Chiefs supporters will be disappointed at the news that their favourite players Itumeleng Khune and goal-scoring machine from Bujumbura Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana will miss this year’s Carling Black Label Cup.
The highly anticipated tournament is scheduled to take place on November 12 at the FNB Stadium. Khune, who is Chiefs’ captain and goalkeeper, has been ruled out and withdrawn from the voting list following advice by the club’s medical team.
He is receiving treatment for a knee tendon injury he picked during warm-up against Chippa United two weeks ago.
“Itu said he felt some pain on his knee when he was doing the warm-up,” explained Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane at that time.
“He thought after seeing the doctor, maybe he would feel much better. The doctor came to me and said if you are going to play him, you will be taking a big risk. We couldn’t take that risk, because we need him for other games going forward.”
Bimenyimana suffered a thigh injury before their match against TS Galaxy and is still on the road to recovery. He was ruled out for four weeks and is now in his third week.
Khune and Bimenyimana also missed the Soweto derby on Saturday last week, which saw Amakhosi beat the Sea Robbers 1-0 in the DStv Premiership at the FNB Stadium.
Khune led the Carling Black Label Cup voting list across all participating teams by almost 170 000 votes. He is followed by Keagan Dolly on 65 000 votes.
The supporters who selected Khune and Bimenyimana to start the match will be “refunded” their votes by the organisers and also allowed to recast their votes for players who are still available for team selection.
Chiefs will face Orlando Pirates in the second match of the Carling Black Label Cup. The first game, at 9.30am, will see AmaZulu and Mamelodi Sundowns kick off the competition, while the third-place playoffs starts at 3.30pm with the final commencing at 5pm.
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