Khulumani Ndamane on Grant Kekana's absence this afternoon against Esperance: His unavailability will hurt us but we will pull together like last time

Khulumani Ndamane has decried the absence of Grant Kekana this afternoon when Mamelodi Sundowns face Esperance in the Caf Champions League semi-final second leg.

Kekana was dismissed in Tunisia last Sunday in Sundowns’ 1-0 win via a Brayan Leone goal which means he misses today’s return leg at Loftus Versveld.

“Grant’s absence hurts a lot,” said Ndamane.

“Just like you saw in the game he has experience but because there are other players, we’ll work together and see what we can do.

“I can say that I can step up in his absence but that doesn’t mean I should be happy when something unfortunate happens to him, like the red card now and be happy that I’ll benefit. I’ll get in when it’s my turn and help the team.”

Sundowns stand a chance to reach the Caf Champions League final for the second time in two years but Ndamane revealed that is not something they are thinking of as yet.

Theirs, according to Ndamane, is to ensure they approach this game like nothing happened before.

“For us it’s like this is still the first half because anything can still happen in the second leg,” added Ndamane.

“We just need to focus and win the game and progress. I’m happy to be playing Champions League football because these are the kind of moments I’ve been dreaming of since I was a kid.”

The game starts at 3pm.