Junior Khanye has revealed his standpoint regarding the extent of Themba Zwane's contribution in Mamelodi Sundowns' upcoming return leg of the CAF Champions League semi-finals against Al Ahly.
Zwane came off the bench for the last 20 minutes of the first leg at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, marking his first appearance in competitive football since October.
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The match ended goalless, with Sundowns and Ahly facing each other again on Friday (18:00 SA time).
"I’d love to see 'Mshishi' play in the midfield. Currently, they are utilising (Teboho) Mokoena and (Marcelo) Allende there, but I would prefer to see Mshishi positioned in front of them," says Khanye, in conversation with KickOff.com.
"When he came off the bench on Saturday, he didn’t show any signs of rustiness. Although he wasn't at 100%, he performed better compared to the likes of Arthur Sales.
"For me, Mshishi should start in the second leg.
"I’ve always believed that he is not effective when playing on the wing because he is more of a thinker and doesn’t possess great pace.
“If you know football, you would recognise that Sundowns missed Mshishi. This upcoming match will be intense, it's the Champions League. He will be the brain of the Sundowns team on Saturday," notes the football analyst.
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The former Kaizer Chiefs winger says Lucas Ribeiro Costa cannot carry the team on his own, something that excites me about Zwane's return.
“He has been out for almost the entire season, but look at how he performed in the Champions League match on Saturday. He hardly lost possession and never showed signs of rust."
