Crunch time in Soweto: Zwane not one to dwell as Chiefs are without their Dolly derby charm

Keagan Dolly has, at best, been an enigma at Kaizer Chiefs to a point where he is no longer in the reckoning for the men's national team.

However, the Chiefs' vice-captain remains an important attacking and leadership cog that AmaKhosi will dearly miss in Saturday's Soweto derby against Orlando Pirates.

In his first Soweto derby in 2021, Dolly scored a brace, becoming only the second Chiefs player to do so in a derby league match, while he also contributes sharp attacking nous in goal assists.

The former Sundowns player suffered a season-ending knee injury during a 1-0 defeat to Sekhukhune United last month.

It's an absence Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane tried to downplay, but the fact is, the Chiefs have not lost a Soweto derby that Dolly has been involved in.

Chiefs will be looking to extend their five-match winning streak against Pirates come Saturday, with the clash at FNB Stadium being a Nedbank Cup semi-final and their arch-rivals standing in the way of ending a trophy drought that stretches back to 2015.

Zwane said they have missed all of their injured players, with absences coming when they could least afford them.

Dolly's injury adds to an expanding list of walking wounded that also includes Khama Billiat and Nkosingiphile Ngcobo.

"We miss all the players who've been out injured this season, especially when you're looking for chemistry," Zwane said.

"We started the season hoping, at this juncture, to be clearer in terms of our identity, but we've had lots of injuries to key players and suspensions."

First-choice goalkeeper Brandon Peterson is set to return after he had to serve suspension during Chiefs' match against Moroka Swallows on Monday. 

"We've had to chop and change players, something that's made our season rather