Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso explains Khulumani Ndamane's adaptation struggles

Ndamane, who joined Sundowns in January from TS Galaxy, has been thrown into a far more intense environment than he experienced at the Rockets, with the champions competing regularly across multiple competitions and under constant pressure to deliver results.

Since arriving at Chloorkop, the defender has already featured 19 times, adding to the 15 appearances he made earlier in the season for Galaxy - a workload Cardoso believes is now catching up with him.

"It's clear that he is tired. Very clear. He's not so reactive, not so agile. He's tired, it's true," said the Downs coach in his post-match interview following their 7-1 victory over Swelele.

"And fatigue is not only physical, it's also mental. The capacity to make a tactical decision, technical decision sometimes is delayed a little bit."

Cardoso pointed to moments in the match where fatigue may have influenced key decisions, including a misplaced pass that led to a goal.

"Today he missed a pass that gave the goal. He was late on the decision. He could have made it quicker, but that's probably also from fatigue that is accumulated," he explained.

With Sundowns managing injuries in defence and preparing for a busy schedule that includes a league clash against TS Galaxy and the CAF Champions League final, Cardoso hinted that rotation will become increasingly important.

"We just lost Keanu, Mothobi is still not able to play and we have Kegan and he is a player that we trust," he added.

Ndamane could now be rested in midweek action, with Kegan Johannes in line for a starting opportunity as Sundowns look to balance squad freshness ahead of their continental final.