Middendorp chuffed to have Billiat back in action

Cape Town - Kaizer Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp is delighted to have star forward Khama Billiat back in the fray after recovering from a hamstring injury.

The 29-year-old was out of contention for more than a month before making his return to the pitch on Saturday, when he came off the bench to help Amakhosi to a 1-0 win over Royal Eagles in the Nedbank Cup.

Middendorp is eager to see Billiat regain his full match fitness so he can unleash the Zimbabwean alongside attacking partners Leonardo Castro and Samir Nurkovic.

"We are definitely very, very pleased to have Khama back into it, that was our intention with taking him out on December 22," said Middendorp, as quoted by KickOff.

"Taking him out for a long time – (now we're into) February and he can now, looking into it, (start playing again). As you have seen, he's quick and fast, he has a good touch and he's sprinting 100%.

"But on the other side, with being out for such a long time, and following a certain model (of recover) - we don't want to overstretch him.

"So, (on Saturday) he got 45 minutes and maybe in the near future he can move up to 60 minutes, and there was a combination of games against Sundowns, and, and, and where we played with all three (Billiat, Castro and Nurkovic), plus Manyama and Maluleka.

"So, this is not where we want to limit ourselves, but you can do this only when each and everybody is at their best.”

Amakhosi are back in action on Saturday against Maritzburg United as the Absa Premiership resumes.

Kick-off is at 18:00.

- TeamTalk Media