Stellenbosch striker Lehlohonolo Mojela will likely be missing again when his side go up against Marumo Gallants twice in the next four days.
Mojela last featured for Stellenbosch at the start of the month when he scored in the MTN8 final against Orlando Pirates, but a knee injury kept him out of the club’s last three fixtures against AmaZulu, Chippa United, and Richards Bay.
“He will likely start training in the next week or so,” coach Steve Barker said. “Initially the prognosis was worse, but after a follow-up, he will most likely start integrating back into training next week.”
It means he will miss Thursday’s Betway Premiership clash against Gallants at the Cape Town Stadium, followed by another meeting between the two clubs on Sunday, this time in Bloemfontein in the Carling Knockout quarterfinal.
Mojela was signed from TS Galaxy at the start of the season and has netted six goals in nine appearances.
Stellenbosch will also have to do without suspended national team midfielder Jayden Adams on Thursday’s’ match (live on SuperSport, kick off 7.30pm).
Coach Barker said it would be important to forget about the cup tie when playing on Thursday.
“The fact that we are playing in Cape Town is advantageous to us in the first game,” Barker said.
“It is a league match and there are league points on offer, so one has to find a way to compartmentalise. We have to focus and not think about the cup game, get the job done, and then wake up on Friday morning to start thinking of the next one.
“There is no preference between the two because ideally, we want to win both,” the Stellenbosch coach added.