Kaizer Chiefs coach Giovanni Solinas has confirmed that winger Lebogang Manyama will be available for selection against Orlando Pirates in the Telkom Knockout semi-finals.
The former Cape Town City man signed for the Amakhosi on a free transfer from Turkish club Konyaspor at the start of this season. He, however, arrived after not playing for several months and needed to regain his fitness before making his debut.
The 2016-17 PSL Player of the Season eventually got up to speed at Naturena and turned out four times for Giovanni Solinas. He was then hit with another setback when he totalled his BMW in a crash on the N1 on Tuesday‚ October 16‚ and was fortunate to escape with just an elbow injury.
Solinas, however, confirmed on Thursday at a press conference that his star signing is back to fitness and ready to take on Orlando Pirates.
‘Lebo is OK. He is in full training. He also played a friendly game on Saturday‚’ Solinas said.
‘So‚ he is available for the derby. So, there is no problem about Lebo.’
Although Manyama may be fit for the clash, Solinas still lamented the lack of time afforded to him by the international break, which only concluded on Wednesday.
‘We have not had a lot of time to prepare because the international players came back yesterday [Wednesday]‚ some players today [Thursday]‚’ the coach said.
‘So, we have two days to prepare for the derby. Today [Thursday] we trained very well.’
Chiefs and Pirates clash at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday and will battle it out for a spot in the Telkom Knockout final.