Solinas fears injury curse
Manyama adds to injury casualties
With in-form Kaizer Chiefs attacker Lebogang Manyama set to be sidelined for the next month following a car crash, coach Giovanni Solinas has lamented the misfortune his team has suffered recently.
Manyama was involved in a crash in the week that left him with a fractured elbow. It is a major setback for Solinas, as Manyama was coming into his own with superb displays for Amakhosi.
The club confirmed that the 28-year-old will be out for six weeks. Since the start of the season, key players including Joseph Molangoane, Leonardo Castro and now Manyama have been hampered by injury.
“Guys, we are fighting against bad luck but we will win against it. It started with Joseph then Castro and now Lebo.
“Please finish [the bad luck],” Solinas decried.
“At Chiefs [we have a number of] good players so if we don’t play Lebo we have options in the squad. It’s a pity [the accident].”
While Castro remains out of action with an ankle knock, Molangoane is expected to make a return from a broken leg in January.
Amakhosi will take on Black Leopards in the Telkom Knockout first round at the FNB Stadium on Sunday (3.30pm).
“It’s not my first Knockout. When I was with Stars I reached the semifinals [in 2016] and lost to [Cape Town] City, so I hope to improve this.
“Chiefs compete to win silverware. We now have TKO, the league, Confederation Cup and Nedbank Cup.We will fight… there is no other option.”
Solinas also downplayed the incident at the Macufe Cup last weekend where striker Gustavo Paez refused to shake his hand, saying it was water under the bridge.
“Paez has apologised to me and to the club so there is no problem. I think as a coach you need to forgive the players sometimes because we are human beings.
“We have a great relationship.”