Mcelwa Nchabeleng

Mcelwa Nchabeleng

Mamelodi Sundowns' defender Mbulelo Mabizela is expected to rejoin his teammates at training today after he decided to return to Johannesburg last night.

Mabizela is said to have left Pietermaritzburg yesterday.

The player went AWOL two weeks ago, leaving his club and Bafana Bafana wondering about his whereabouts.

While the Brazilians were still clutching at straws about Mabizela's whereabouts, Sowetan got it on good authority that the troublesome defender was "returning to Johannesburg by bus" because he was apparently too late to secure a seat on a flight.

Mahlatse Mphahlele, Sundowns' publicist, said yesterday that they knew nothing about the possibility of the player returning to training this morning.

The player's disappearance seemed to have caused tension at the club.

It is understood that though the club's president Patrice Motsepe was of the opinion that the player should be fired, he would find it difficult to do so because Mabizela is close to Ted Dumitru, the executive technical director.

Mabizela disappeared a few days before Bafana Bafana's international friendly against Malawi in Germiston last Tuesday.

Sundowns had reported that he was injured but that he was supposed to come to camp to be assessed by the national team's doctors.

Club officials were unable to contact him as his cellphone was continuously on voice-mail. Mabizela was also reported to have been involved in a car accident.

But the club has no proof of that.