Mamelodi Sundowns’ players are going to need a minimum of two weeks of training before they can be able to play competitive football again‚ according to coach Pitso Mosimane.

The football programme has been suspended for over a month now due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic with players forced to train on their own at home.

Mosimane said with this situation‚ players’ programmes are mainly focusing on strength and conditioning but less aerobic and ball work because the lockdown has confined them to small spaces at home.

“I can’t talk for other teams but as Sundowns we are going to need at least a minimum of two weeks before we start playing competitive football again‚” said Mosimane‚ who still has a chance of guiding Sundowns to a rare treble if the season is completed.

Sundowns have already won the Telkom Knockout and they remain in the hunt for the Absa Premiership title and the Nedbank Cup trophy‚ where they have qualified for a semifinal against Bidvest Wits.

“You need to get the aerobic system and the lungs working properly‚ you need to get the ball and technique back. It doesn’t mean that you have lost the technique but football is played the ball.

“At the moment we are only doing virtual training but we are not running much‚ we need to get the legs going by running.

“Football is about kicking the ball and working on technique and tactics. We need to get the system back‚ what’s good for us is that we are working on strength and conditioning now.

“We train every day. I don’t know what other teams are doing but we are working.”

Mosimane said the advantage of working on strength and conditioning is that players will not be prone to injuries when they return to competitive action.

“We are not having the ball at the moment but what we are working on will help us to avoid injuries when we come back. You need a base to play football and the base of strength and conditioning and aerobic.

“When the aerobic side is good‚ it means you can play for 90 minutes without getting tired‚ it means you can overlap and come back. That means you have the lungs and the legs to run those distances.

“If you don’t have that‚ you can’t say you are ready. If you don’t have strength and condition‚ you run the risk of injuries like cramps‚ hamstring‚ pull your calf muscles and the groin.”