Kaizer Chiefs will be without captain and goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune for both legs of their 2018/2019 CAF Confederation Cup pre-group stage clash against Zesco United.
Khune is sidelined for the rest of the season with a dislocated shoulder that he sustained in training.
The Bafana Bafana number one on Saturday watched Chiefs’ Gauteng derby home clash against Mamelodi Sundowns from the FNB Stadium VIP box with his left hand strapped in a sling.
Chiefs lost that league match 2-1 in a game Chipolopolo goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene played the full 90 minutes.
In Khune’s place, a very familiar face to Zambian football will instead man the posts for Chiefs in the form of Namibia number one Virgil Vries.
Meanwhile, 8th placed Chiefs have two more dates before heading to Ndola for their first leg date against Zesco on January 13 at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium.
Today, Sunday, Chiefs play Bundesliga side Werder Bremen in a closed-door friendly in Johannesburg as part of the German sides’ mid-season winter break camp in South Africa.
Chiefs then face 2016/2017chapmpions and current league leaders Bidvest Wits in a league fixture on January 9 before packing their bags for Ndola.
The final leg against Zesco is set for January 19 at a venue yet to be confirmed by Chiefs.
Chiefs have played their last two CAF Confederation Cup home games away from their Johannesburg base in Port Elizabeth and Durban.
The fact that Khune is injured should not make Zesco think they are going to have it easy. He is jus one player and the rest of the team is intact. So Zesco United should be ready to tackle the bull by its horns. Some people are saying Kaizer Chiefs are not doing so well in the South African league. This too should not make Zesco relax. The point is that matches involving teams from South Africa and Zambia have been tough. Its like there is that rivalry between South African football versus Zambian football to see who is the king of soccer in the COSAFA region. So I would like to urge Zesco to be even more serious than they were during the time they played T.P. Mazembe. We want to see our teams go further than knock out stages. Play with all your passion and win comfortably at home…