Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi admits he missed in-form attacking midfielder Neo Maema during their 1-1 draw against Stellenbosch FC over the weekend.

The 26-year-old has been ever-present in the Sundowns squad this campaign and has managed to score two goals and assists a further four from 11 appearances across all competitions.

However, Maema was left out of the squad that drew with Stellies after he picked up an injury during their 2-0 victory over Sekhukhune United in their last DStv Premiership.

The Sundowns mentor has since reflected on how he missed Maema’s presence and how his injury affected the team on the day.

“Now that we have not won the match we would say we have missed him, he is a very important player in our team, but the boys that were given a chance today did well, we should not take anything away from them,” Mngqithi told his club’s official website.

“[Neo] has settled in well and given us a lot of goals and assists and it was very unfortunate for him to pick up an injury.”

Mamelodi Sundowns are now set to welcome Royal AM to the Loftus Versfeld Stadium when the two sides square off in their next DStv Premiership fixture on Wednesday, with kick off set for 3:30pm.