Khune, who has replaced Jimmy Tau as skipper, was thought to have been sidelined by a back injury he apparently suffered in Bafana Bafana's match against Sierra Leone earlier this month, but the team's football manager Bobby Motaung revealed that Khune's continuous stint on the sidelines is not only because of the back injury.
"Itumeleng was admitted to hospital in Bloemfontein when we were there for the Macufe Cup and he was later transferred to Morningside hospital in Johannesburg," Motaung told Football365.co.za.
"He has pneumonia that we think he got in Niger when Bafana Bafana were playing there in September and we are thinking that his body reacted late to it. He was supposed to return to training this week, but he will not be back in the next two weeks definitely. He is also injured (back injury) and he is ill (pneumonia), but he is recovering very well."
Motaung has rejected talk that Chiefs were trying to shield Khune from the spotlight when the club revealed that he was suffering from a back injury.
Khune was accused of time-wasting when Bafana Bafana drew 0-0 with Sierra Leone and failed to qualify for the 2012 AFCON, but amazingly the Khune who was down on the ground towards the end of the match was jumping in celebration of what turned out to be a futile exercise as Bafana didn't qualify for the 2012 AFCON, owing to not understanding the rules.
"Football is our business and the players make money when they play, so we can't be hiding them... We will never lie to the media," Motaung added.