Kaizer Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter is unsure whether to hand Khama Billiat a starting berth or to have him on the bench.

The Soweto giants will go head to head against Mamelodi Sundowns in the quarter-finals of the MTN8 at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Sunday.

Billiat was substituted in Amakhosi’s victory over Orlando Pirates in the Carling Black Label Cup final after he went down in what looked to be a serious injury.

However, Baxter has since revealed that the Zimbabwe international will be available for selection in their season opener.

“Khama is doing excellently in training. He is looking sharp, enthusiastic. He is probably a better all-round player than I thought he would be, but that’s what happens when you work with players – you get to know them better,” Baxter said at a media conference ahead of this weekend’s game.

“Whether that means he will start, or he is a very interesting guy from the bench, the next couple of days will tell me. But, certainly, Khama is looking like he is enjoying the work we are doing and, two, he is showing his quality.”

The former Bafana Bafana mentor also confirmed that Lebogang Manyama, Leonardo Castro and Dumisani Zuma will not be part of the squad as they continue to recover from their respective injuries.

“We’ve got a couple of them who are getting back. Lebo Manyama did his first training with the team the other day. That does not mean he is fit, but it means he is fit to take part in training and get himself match fit. We’ve got the couple of others who have come back from the Olympics, not injured, and they’ve got to slowly get back into things,” Baxter said.

“We’ve got the ones who have been injured long term, Leo Castro and [Dumisani] Zuma. We do have our injuries, but at the same time we have got players who have been taking part in training and those are the ones we will be selecting the team from. I can’t see any huge surprises now.”