Mamelodi Sundowns have confirmed that attacking midfielder Lebohang Maboe could be sidelined for up to nine months after he sustained a knee injury last month.

The 26-year-old has been out since the start of the season after sustaining a serious knee injury, and Sundowns team doctor Carl Tabane has now confirmed that Maboe is expected to be out of action for six to nine months.

As a result of his injury, Maboe could miss the entire 2021-22 season, having last played when he represented Bafana Bafana at the Cosafa Cup tournament in Port Elizabeth last month.

Speaking to the Sundowns media team, Dr Tabane revealed that the former Maritzburg United attacker has sustained anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) damage.

“Lebo sustained quite a complex knee injury at the beginning of August,” Tabane said.

“He is currently four weeks post-injury and exactly 11 days post-surgery. We are looking at a rehab process of about six to nine months.

“But it’s not the first time we are treating such an injury. With the medical team that we have, we are quite confident that we might shorten it and he might come back a little bit early.

“Obviously, these are the types of injuries that you might think is a career-ending injury, but he is a highly motivated individual and we actually started the rehab before the surgery and he was quite keen to do that.

“He read about the subject and knew exactly what’s going on.”