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Johannesburg - It might be prompted by a degree of selfishness, but soccer clubs worldwide have continually bemoaned the fact that players on whom they have spent good money return from international duty with costly injuries.
Joining the queue on Thursday were the PSL's big spenders, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Three of their top players returned to the club's Chloorkop headquarters with injuries from the weekend's African Nations Cup qualifiers.
Perhaps most disturbing was the knee injury to current top Bafana Bafana goalscorer Katlego Mphela, who ironically did not even play in the ill-fated 2-1 defeat against Niger because of an incident which occurred in South Africa's pre-match training.
Equally disturbing for the Brazilians, before their tricky Premier League game against Bidvest Wits at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Tuesday, is the recurrence of an old injury to kingpin Elias Pelembe during Mozambique's 1-0 AFCON victory over the weekend.
And, adding salt into the wound, was the head injury suffered by captain Method Mwanjale during Zimbabwe's 3-0 victory over Liberia, which may have resulted in mild concussion.
"All three players will have to undergo fitness tests before the crucial game against Wits," is the message on the Sundowns website.
"A game from which we need all three points to remain in the forefront of the Premier League title race.
"The three players returning with injuries from international duty could hardly have been of more importance in the make-up of the team."
