Former Bafana doctor: 'Unrealistic to finish PSL in June'

Former Bafana Bafana doctor Ntlopi Mogoru says the Premier Soccer League (PSL) should not rush to return to action.

The PSL announced a proposal that the current 2019/2020 campaign be completed by 30 June.

With South Africa preparing to go into a 21-day lockdown from Thursday evening, there is massive uncertainty as to when regular life will be able continue.

Mogoru says that it would be safer to consider an end date closer to July.

He told Business Day: "It is unrealistic to say the league will finish at the end of June. They must at least extend it to the end of July because players are going to come back very unfit.

"We all know that President (Cyril) Ramaphosa on Tuesday announced a national shutdown of 21 days and this means players will not be able to go to the gym. They will only rely on training programmes they got from the clubs at home as they are not reporting for training [because of] social distancing."

He added: "Training at home is not the same as working every day with a dedicated fitness trainer at the club. Some of them are going to eat junk‚ consume too much sugar and drink alcohol.

"Because of all these things that are not ideal for elite sportsmen and women‚ I can guarantee you they won’t be fully fit when they come back.

"You need a period of at least a month to load players properly so they are at peak physical conditioning to play football at the highest level."

Mogoru, who has also worked at Mamelodi Sundowns‚ SuperSport United and Platinum Stars, concluded: "In my opinion‚ they must aim for this season to finish at the end of July and to start next season sometime in September."

- TEAMtalk media