Fatigued Williams declares himself ready for Bafana opener

Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams has admitted that a large volume of matches he has been playing at Mamelodi Sundowns is starting to catch up with him.

This after Williams failed to train with Bafana during the training camp in Stellenbosch following a niggle on his knee.

Williams, 31, has played 26 matches for Sundowns across all competitions so far this season and with a few days before the Bafana Africa Cup of Nations opener against Mali on Tuesday, he said it had been tough for him.

“Obviously, it’s tough as much as they try by all means to help us with all the recovery protocols and the rest, sometimes it becomes too much,” Williams told the media yesterday.

“Especially travelling because the continent is big. One day, you are up north and the next day in the south, so it’s difficult to see towards the end of our campaign in December, we didn’t have the legs.

“Sometimes, mental fatigue as well and I think that is the most serious one. The physical fatigue, you can deal with but once you start feeling the mental one that’s when you don’t enjoy football.”

Williams added that he should be ready for Bafana’s opening match against Mali on Tuesday as the injury is not that serious.

“It is just a niggle that I got on my knee. It’s something that always comes out when there are a lot of games,” he said.

“So, it’s nothing serious. It’s just something that I need to manage, something that I need to look after.

“I’ve been getting wonderful treatment in camp since I got here, so yeah, I will be on the pitch in no time.”