Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena has admitted he’s not happy with the progress of Bongani Zungu but has tipped him to be back to his best soon.
Zungu who turned 30 on Sunday made his third appearance for Sundowns – in the 7-0 win over La Passe on Sunday – since his return to the club after six seasons in Europe that took him to Portugal, France and Scotland.
However, it’s been noticeable that the powerful midfielder has looked a bit heavy and out of shape after not featuring as regularly as he would have liked in his final season for various reasons.
This website understands he’s already lost five kilograms and is close to reaching the weight where he was playing the best football of his career, but as of now Mokwena insists they are not happy with his progress as they know he has much more in his locker.
“Incredible human being, Bongani Zungu, are we happy with his progress… he knows I’m not happy and I can maybe speak in a personal capacity, he knows I’m not happy – he knows he can do more, so I’m not afraid to say it here because I’ve said it to him,” Mokwena said at Chloorkop on Sunday evening.
“But we continue to work, the physical trainers have got to try to assist him and it’s not easy because if you look at where Bongani has been for the last two seasons, it’s been very difficult for him and then the subject of weight loss is a completely different subject of conditioning.
“So it’s very difficult to put a time frame on relation to that, but to lose the number of kilos that he’s lost is a reflection of the good work of both himself and the conditioning team have done but he remains committed to the process – which it is and I’m sure you will still see a little bit more from Bongz.
“He will continue to work hard, he’s a top professional, an astute professional, that’s what got him to Europe, so it’s not a worry for me, it’s not a concern, he’ll be in very good condition soon.”
The South Africa international midfielder will be aiming to get his first start since his return when Sundowns face La Passe for their second leg CAF Champions League qualifiers on Friday.
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