Billiat worry for Chiefs

K aizer Chiefs could be forced to do battle without two of their key players when they host Black Leopards for a Telkom Knockout last-16 match at FNB Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Amakhosi will be without Lebogang Manyama, who was injured in a car accident earlier in the week and Khama Billiat is now also doubtful after picking up a knock on duty for Zimbabwe in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Chiefs said yesterday Manyama would be out for “up to six weeks” with a fractured elbow, while Billiat has a back injury and will undergo a fitness test later today to see if he can be included in Sunday’s match-day squad.

Coach Giovanni Solinas (pictured) said his team has had bad luck in terms of injuries. “They are all okay – except for Khama who has a small problem. We will however make the decision with the doctors tomorrow. It is not a serious problem but I don’t know if Khama will be able to play,” said Solinas yesterday.

“We are fighting against bad luck. But we will continue to fight. We will beat this bad luck. It started with Joseph (Malongoane), then it was (Leonardo) Castro, now it is Lebo.

“But we have good players and if Lebo can’t play, we have other options. It is a pity because he was getting back to his best and he played well in the Macufe Cup. It is a pity he is now injured,” added Solinas.

After the last Fifa break in September, Solinas’ team came out firing on all cylinders, winning all three of their Absa Premiership matches, and the 50-year-old said he hopes for more of the same this time around, saying they used it to fine-tune where they were not as sharp as they should be.

“We hope the international break was helpful. We worked hard every day to prepare for this game. I am very happy with the commitment the players showed. We continue to try and improve,” he said.

There is general belief that the Chiefs players might be distracted in the Leopards game by the highly anticipated Soweto derby – they play long-time rivals Orlando Pirates on October 27 in the Premiership.

“The derby is a very important game … but before the derby we have a very important game on Sunday,” said Solinas.