Cape Town City have received a double New Year’s tonic in their bid to lift themselves out of the relegation doldrums with the return to fitness of top striker Kermit Erasmus and skipper Thamsanqa Mkhize.

It could not have come at a better time for the club‚ who have not scored a goal since new coach Jan Olde Riekerink took over and picked up only two points from their last four Absa Premiership matches‚ leaving them second from bottom.

City host Baroka FC on Sunday at the Cape Town Stadium in search of only their third win of the season and a way out of the drop zone near the foot of the Premier Soccer League’s table with the pair expected to return to the starting line-up.

Erasmus pulled up with a hamstring strain in the goalless draw with Highlands Park at the end of November and missed the subsequent matches against Chippa United and Bidvest Wits – which City both lost.

The 29-year-old Erasmus is the club’s top scorer in the league with seven goals this season – two behind Peter Shalulile of Highlands Park‚ who is the PSL’s top marksman.

The 31-year-old Mkhize‚ the national team’s first choice right-back‚ is now over an ankle injury that forced him to miss the 2-0 loss at Wits just before Christmas.

City are also expected to hand a debut to new signing Mduduzi Mdantsane‚ whose contract at Baroka FC was surprisingly terminated last month despite him being the club’s skipper.

City officials reacted quickly when they saw the tweet from Baroka about the release of four players‚ including the exciting Mdantsane‚ on December 23 and swooped quickly over Christmas to sign the 25-year-old straight away.

Mdantsane has blown City’s coaches away with his fitness level and made a strong impression in training this week and is likely to get a debut off the bench – and an immediate chance to show Baroka they may have made a major mistake in letting him go.