Football
Nick Said, Special to ESPN 7y

Siphiwe Tshabalala returns for Kaizer Chiefs duty

Kaizer Chiefs' push for a top-three finish in the Premiership has received a boost with the news that in-form playmaker Siphiwe Tshabalala should be fit for the weekend's trip to Polokwane City.

The AmaKhosi trail third-place Cape Town City by five points with three rounds of matches to play, and will be eager to salvage something from another disappointing campaign with qualification for the African Confederation Cup.

Those chances would have been a lot slimmer without Tshabalala, who is having an Indian Summer late on in his career and has been arguably the best player at Chiefs this campaign.

He missed the 1-1 draw with Lamontville Golden Arrows at the weekend, having picked up a muscle strain in the 2-2 draw with SuperSport United in the match before -- a game in which he celebrated his 300th PSL start with a brace of goals.

But the club have confirmed that he is now back in training and should be fit for Polokwane if selected.

Tshabalala has made 24 starts this season, netting eight goals, the second best return of his illustrious 13-year career in the South African top-flight, eclipsed only by the 2010/11 campaign when he scored nine.

He was also delighted to see youngster Ryan Moon score his first professional goal in the draw with Golden Arrows.

"The goal from the young man was marvelous. I am happy he got on the score sheet and that will give him confidence to keep his head up and push on," Tshabalala told his official website.

"The lads did well overall. We are just out of luck lately and it has not been going our way. That though is the way football is," he said.

There was more mixed news for Chiefs on the injury front. Left-back Sibusiso Khumalo is out of action for the next 10 days with a knee ligament strain, but right-back Kgotso Moleko is back in training after a hamstring problem.

Chiefs finish their campaign with the trip to Polokwane, followed by a visit to Platinum Stars and then a final day showdown with title-chasers BidVest Wits on May 27.

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