Zwane revealed why Nabulo Ngcobo was dropped from Chiefs squad

Interim coach Arthur Zwane of Kaizer Chiefs has revealed why defender Njabulo Ngcobo was left out of the matchday squad against Cape Town City.

The reigning Defender of the Season has had a difficult season so far, first battling to earn consistent game-time under Stuart Baxter before the incident against the Golden Arrows.

Zwane had showed faith in Ngcobo by starting him in his first two games in charge, but the 27-year-old struggled and lost his team the 1-1 tie in the 2-1 defeat.

As a result, Zwane chose to remove him, and Ngcobo showed his displeasure by snubbing a handshake with Dillon Sheppard before battling with Lee Baxter.

However, 10111 emphasized that the player would not be crucified for his actions, and Ngcobo also apologized publicly.

However, Ngcobo was not in the squad on Saturday, with Zwane stating that the coaching staff is attempting to protect him.

“Yes, Njabulo apologised,” Zwane said after the game, when asked by iDiski Times journalist Lorenz Kohler about the player’s absence.

“He’s not in the team because of the incident. We’re trying to protect him. He’s a footballer and you could see, even when he was substituted he was not himself.

“He made about four to five mistakes, starting from first half and second half unfortunately one of those mistakes was very, very costly and you could see he couldn’t recover from it. So I had to pull him out and save him because I’ve been there before.

“Unfortunately people saw it in a different way. He was very upset with himself because he believes he can do better.

“He knows he came to a club where there is pressure, he also wanted to showcase his talent and perform on the day. Unfortunately it was not his day.

“We’re trying to manage, not only him but we’re trying to manage all the players, who go through different challenges here and there.

“But if he’s ready, mentally-wise, he’ll come back and play again.”