Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has given an update on Lebo Mothiba which indicates that his services won't be used any time soon.
The big striker has been training with Sundowns in the hope of securing a deal, but has loads of work to do to get into the right type of condition. This is due to the fact that Mothiba has spent a long period on the sidelines after parting ways with French Ligue 1 side Racing Strasbourg. He also had to recover from injury.
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After booking a spot in the CAF Champions League quarter-finals on Sunday evening, Cardoso made it clear that Mothiba will not help Sundowns any time soon.
"Let me make it clear. Lebo Mothiba will not help the team in the nearest moments because he is not in condition. He comes from a long period of injury, so we should not even think about him helping the team at the moment. He's not on that process. He's working with us, but it's a medium to long term plan for him," Cardoso said to media after the match.
"He is one year without playing. He had a big surgery and he is recovering. His condition, still many questions on the process. He is a wonderful person and a wonderful player, but everybody, and even ourselves, cannot put pressure on him. Let's see what will happen with him."
Sundowns confirmed the signing of midfielder Jayden Adams from Stellenbosch FC over the weekend and Cardoso made it clear that new players are going to have to prove that they are better than the ones who are already at Chloorkop. Adams should not expect to walk into the starting line-up. His work on the training ground will have a big say in whether or not he gets opportunities to play in a midfield that already has a lot of quality.
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"Like normal, the club will be open to see if there are opportunities in the market to make us stronger, but we believe in our players and any player has to prove himself. It's for Jayden and anyone else. We will not give gifts to anyone. They will have to show if they are better than our players and then we will see. That comes from a daily basis of work."
