Chiefs were without Billiat for the first time since his arrival from Mamelodi Sundowns at the start of the season, when they hosted Black Leopards at the FNB Stadium on Sunday.
The Zimbabwean international returned from Warriors duty, where he played 180 minutes across both AFCON qualifiers against DR Congo, with a back injury a week ago.
The 28-year-old was a noticeable absentee as Amakhosi were made to sweat against Lidoda Duvha as they were stretched all the way to extra-time and penalties before eventually winning 4-2, largely thanks to goalkeeper Virgil Vries’s heroics.
With the Soweto Derby coming up in just two days, coach Giovanni Solinas is still uncertain whether the former PSL Footballer of the Season, along with Dumisani Zuma and Leonardo Castro, will be ready for action.
“These [injured] players are under observation and the report from the doctor has still not come, and we are waiting. I don’t know at the moment [if they will be ready to play],” said Solinas.
Meanwhile, Khune admitted that from his point of view on the bench on Sunday, the team missed the presence of Billiat, but insisted those who filled in made use of the opportunity.
“Khama Billiat is our key player and yes we’ve got a lot of great players, but whenever a key player is missed on the day, somewhere, somehow you find out and see the difference,” Khune said.
“And we ended up going to extra-time [against Leopards], and I was saying to the guys on the bench that we really needed his presence in the match.
“He was missed, but I think the other guys took their opportunity and delivered, now we are in the next round.”