Kaizer Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane has explained the sudden disappearance of Siyethemba Sithebe from the Amakhosi starting line-up during a media briefing on Thursday, ahead of Chiefs’ league encounter against Chippa United at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.
Amakhosi are looking for their fourth win in a row.
Sithebe started the season like a house on fire after he was sidelined by his former club AmaZulu for negotiating with Chiefs while he was still playing in their colours.
Sithebe’s signature was captured in a dramatic fashion when he signed a pre-contract with Chiefs. His decision enraged Usuthu boss Sandile Zungu, who removed the midfield workhorse from the team.
He spent the last six months of the past season not playing. At the end of the season, Sithebe was free to join any team of his choice. He officially left the KwaZulu-Natal outfit and found a new home at the Chiefs headquarters in Naturena.
After a decent start at Chiefs, Sithebe has now been relegated to the bench. He last started a league match when they defeated SuperSport United 2-1 at the FNB Stadium on September 17. In the MTN8 first leg, he started but was substituted with Keagan Dolly.
“There is no doubt that Sithebe, in the first few games that we played, added much-needed value. But unfortunately, there were games where he ran out of steam,” explained Zwane.
“We expected that, because he was out and did not play football for a long time. We are managing him, and we believe that he is going to come back very strong.
Zwane also gave an update on the availability of players.
“With Khama Billiat, we will monitor him today [Thursday] and see if he will be ready to play. Itumeleng Khune will not be available, hopefully he will get better going forward.
“We welcome George Matlou and Zitha Kwinike back from suspension, and Happy Mashiane is battling a bit, but he started training two days ago.
“Besides those, we have a clean bill of health and I hope it will remain this way, because at this time of the season, you need all the players to keep the chemistry right in the team,” said Zwane.
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