The return of strikers James Keene and Phakamani Mahlambi from long-term injuries will boost Bidvest Wits’ championship hopes, said coach Gavin Hunt after a tough week in which he saw his side lose to SuperSport United and Cape Town City.
Following a great start to the 2016/17 season, the Clever Boys didn't look like they had missed the duo until their eight-game unbeaten run in the Absa Premiership came to a halt when SuperSport beat them 2-0 last Tuesday, and City turned the screws with a 3-2 win three days later on Friday.
“They will certainly make a world of difference,” said Hunt, who stressed that he felt his men were good enough to have won those two matches but had come unstuck due to poor finishing and injuries to key players.
Five players, among them captain Thulani Hlatshwayo, were all missing last week because they were either hurt or suspended, and that is excluding the duo of Keene and Mahlambi, who have not kicked a ball so far this season.
They were initially expected back after the Christmas recess, but Hunt revealed that Mahlambi, whose cruel knee injury ruled him out of the national Under-23 team that took part in the Rio Olympic Games in August, will play against Golden Arrows in a league clash next week.
Phakamani Mahlambi
“We can’t buy anybody in the January transfer window, but we are going to try and get our team back.
“We know that James and Phakamani will have a huge influence.
"What we need to do is get one or two players out, that’s for sure,” Hunt said after his side remained in third place and four points behind log leaders City.
“Phakamani hasn’t played for nine months, but he will come back.
“I know we haven’t become a bad team overnight, but I am still disappointed if you look at the goals we conceded and the chances we missed.
“If City scored three, we should have scored eight,” he added.
Keen, an Englishman who arrived as a free agent at the club almost a year ago, and Mahlambi both burst on to the scene last season, scoring a combined total of 12 goals. Keen is also recovering from a knee injury.
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