Word coming out of the Mpumalanga Black Aces camp is that midfielder Mark Mayambela has recovered from his injury and is ready to compete for his place in the team.

Mayambela, who joined Aces as a free agent after he was released by Orlando Pirates, got injured soon after joining AmaZayoni.

Read: Mayambela Joins Aces

Aces coach Clive Barker has expressed delight at having the talented Khayelitsha-born midfielder at his disposal, but the former Bafana Bafana mentor has ruled Mayambela out of tonight’s game against Maritzburg United.

“It would have been unfair on the other guys that were doing well for us, to just simply include Mark in the 18-man squad for the Maritzburg game. He needs to fight for his position in the team,” Barker told the Siya crew.

“Having said that, I can’t hide the fact that I’m delighted that he is back though. He is such a talented player and he will give us some options in the midfield,” added Barker.

Meanwhile, Barker is expecting a tough encounter when Aces take on Maritzburg at Harry Gwala Stadium tonight.

“Maritzburg are favourites to win this one because they’re playing at home. The conditions will be difficult as well because there will be lots of dew, which makes it hard to control the ball, but we’ll do our best to come away with something in this game,” explained Barker.

View: The latest PSL fixtures

By Khaya Ndubane
Follow Khaya on Twitter: @Lakhandu