South Africa’s Bafana Bafana have been hit by an injury concern ahead of their African Cup of Nations third place match against DR Congo on Saturday at the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan
Apart from the injury concerns, Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos revealed that his wards are struggling for motivation after their semi-final loss to the Super Eagles of Nigeria, following a bruising 120 minutes and penalty shootout.
“There are some players who are not available due to injuries and there will be changes in the team. We have Thapelo Maseko who is injured and his tournament is finished.
“There is the red card of Grant Kekana and we have three to four players who have suffered injuries. This means we will have to wait for our last training on Friday night to see who will be available for the game.
“We have a few problems, but I hope players will be mentally ready and that is the most important thing. I hope they will be ready to go again 100% like we did against Nigeria because DR Congo are also a good team.
“There was disappointment on Wednesday because we played a very good game against Nigeria where we showed that we are a good team. We are out of the final after 120 minutes of football and penalties, it is always a big disappointment for all of us.
“But this is a coach who is proud to be coaching this team. We did a good Afcon and again when you play this good in a semifinal, the disappointment is big. The game tomorrow [Saturday] is special and it depends on which team is motivated.”
This situation will open the door for fringe players like Veli Mothwa, Nkosinathi Sibisi, Jayden Adams, Terrence Mashego and Oswin Appollis to play some part in this match on Saturday.
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - NOVEMBER 11: South Africa coach Hugo Broos greets players during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, qualifier match between South Africa and Zimbabwe at FNB Stadium on November 11, 2021 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images)