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The national team will run out of players when it resumes its Afcon qualification campaign later this month.
The South African Football Association (Safa) has revealed that six players have been withdrawn from the last Bafana Bafana team.
Bafana head coach Molefi Ntseki recently appointed a 26-man team to the upcoming 2022 African Cup of Nations qualifiers against São Tomé and Príncipe.
Safa has now announced that the team will not be served by Thibang Phete, Thulani Serero, Andile Jali, Reeve Frosler, Thamsanqa Mkhize and Abubakar Mobara through the official Bafana Bafana Twitter account:
The sextet will miss Bafana’s two consecutive games against São Tomé and Príncipe later this month due to medical reasons.
“Thibang Phete, Thulani Serero, Andile Jali, Reeve Frosler, Thami Mkhize and Abubakar Mobara are out of the team to play Sao Tome on Friday and Monday for medical reasons,” a statement read on Sunday night.
This comes after Cape Town announced that its two players, Mkhize and Mobara, are self-isolating after testing positive for the coronavirus on Sunday afternoon.
“Thamsanqa Mkhize and Abbubaker Mobara have been in isolation following a positive test for Covid-19,” an club statement read.
“They will not meet their international obligations and we wish both of them a speedy recovery.”
While Frosler has been removed from the Bafana team after injuring himself during the MTN8 clash between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates on Sunday afternoon.
The 22-year-old right-back was substituted shortly before half an hour and his team, Chiefs, succumbed to a 2-0 loss to the Pirates in the second leg of the semifinal at FNB Stadium.
Meanwhile, Jali, who is on the books of PSL champion Mamelodi Sundowns, has also withdrawn from the team due to injury.
The 30-year-old midfield master suffered a hamstring injury during the Sundowns’ 2-0 win over Cape Town in a league game at Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday night.
His Bafana teammate Serero was substituted at halftime during his club, Al Jazira’s 1-0 loss to Sharjah in the Arab Gulf League game on Saturday and it is unclear if the midfielder was injured. or not.
Lastly, Phete played 86 minutes for Belenenses as they drew 0-0 with Rio Ave in a Portuguese Primeira Liga match on Friday and the club has not provided an update on the defender’s fitness.
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