The Sunday Mail
Langton Nyakwenda
Sports Reporter
HE is injured, stressed and facing a bleak future, but Khama Billiat is not walking alone.
The 32-year-old Kaizer Chiefs forward has been ruled out for the rest of the 2022/2023 DStv Premiership season after undergoing groin surgery.
His contract with Amakhosi expires on June 30 and by that time he will be a few weeks shy of his 33rd birthday.
Questions surrounding Billiat’s future dominated Chiefs’ press conferences last week.
The Soweto giants’ coach, Arthur Zwane, was non-committal about the Zimbabwean’s fate.
But the former Warriors talisman has received backing from his fellow countrymen, including some who previously donned the famous gold-and-black Chiefs’ jersey.
Former Warriors team manager Sharif Mussa believes Billiat will bounce back from the current setback.
“We all know what a fit Khama Billiat can do. I believe he still has so much in him to continue making an impact in any team he plays for,” said Mussa.
“The only worry is that he is not getting younger, and when you are in such a position as he is, you just have to pray that injuries do not derail you because recovery takes longer.”
Despite earning mega bucks, the star player’s contribution at Chiefs has divided opinion among the club’s faithful.
He joined the South African glamour club in 2018 after a dazzling stint at Mamelodi Sundowns, where he won the league’s best player award.
He has scored 17 goals in 96 league appearances for Chiefs, but he was yet to open his account this term when injury struck.
Ex-Chiefs midfielder Rabson “Sarafina” Muchichwa says Billiat’s performance has been influenced by “the quality of players around him”.
“You cannot talk about Khama’s performance as an individual without looking at Kaizer Chiefs’ performance in general,” Muchichwa told The Sunday Mail Sport from his base in South Africa.
“Kaizer Chiefs have not been doing well, generally. I don’t know the reason but the quality of players Khama is playing with is something to talk about as well.
“Because, if you look at it, Khama played his best football at Sundowns. Since he joined Chiefs, we haven’t seen the real Khama.
“He gave his all at Sundowns; I doubt if he has done that at Chiefs, but, like I said, it also has to do with players in the team.
“We just pray he recovers because he still has some few years ahead of him. He just needs to focus on his recovery, surround himself with good people and sort himself out.”
Muchichwa knows the pressure of playing for the club all too well, having won a number of accolades with Amakhosi.
At one time, he was the club’s poster boy.
Another former Zimbabwe and Chiefs striker, Luke Petros Jukulile, has a different opinion.
He feels it is time for Billiat to part ways with Chiefs.
“There has been a lot of pressure on the boy, maybe because he is one of the best paid and is a foreigner,” said Petros, who now coaches Central Region Division One outfit WhaWha.
“So, I guess the boy should make a move now. He has two or three years to play in the South African Premiership.
“He tried his best at Chiefs but he should now move on and rejuvenate himself away from the pressure at Chiefs.”
Petros played for Kaizer Chiefs from 2001 to 2002, a period during which he was also a regular member of the Warriors squad.
■ Twitter: @LangtonGuraz
