Former Kaizer Chiefs striker Fees Moloi says the club should investigate its growing injury crisis, suggesting the problems may be linked to player conditioning and workload management rather than bad luck.
Kaizer Chiefs have lost several players to injury in recent weeks, with the left-back position particularly affected. Bradley Cross, Paseka Mako and Nkanyisa Shinga are all currently nursing injuries, while Reeve Frosler and Langelihle Phili are the latest members of the squad to be sidelined.
Moloi believes the sequence of injuries could reflect difficulties in moving players from off-season training into the demands of competitive football. The former forward said the intensity of the club’s preparation may have risen too quickly before the players were fully ready.
“The problem might be with the strength and conditioning and load management progression at Chiefs,” Moloi told KickOff.
“Not even five league games have been played, but there is already an injury crisis at the club. The training intensity might have increased after off-season. It might have increased too high when the players were not yet ready.
“If that’s the case, then you will suffer injuries.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean the technical staff is doing a poor job, but the transition from off-season from high intensity training to competitive matches… maybe that’s where they lost it. It wasn’t managed well.”
Moloi, who also played for Santos, questioned how so many players could be unavailable in one position so early in the campaign. He said Kaizer Chiefs needed to establish whether the injuries had been carried over from the previous season or occurred during pre-season.
“It’s strange to have about six players in a single position not available. These injuries needs to be investigated by Kaizer Chiefs. Find out if these injuries are not from last season, were these injuries sustained during pre-season? Moloi asked.
“We never saw some of these injuries happening during a match, so where are they coming from? How did they happen?
“If the club can investigate all that, then they will be able to solve this injury crisis they are faced with,” said the former Santos striker.
The situation has placed additional pressure on new coach Fernando Da Cruz, who has overseen six signings since taking charge of Kaizer Chiefs this season.
The club’s injury problems come at an early stage of the campaign, with fewer than five league matches played when Moloi raised his concerns. The former striker said the club’s medical, conditioning and training processes should be examined to determine whether the transition into competitive fixtures had been handled correctly.
Kaizer Chiefs are due to return to action next weekend against Siwelele.
