Trio jet in to complete Bafana squad
Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter has confirmed that Dino Ndlovu‚ Lebogang Phiri and Percy Tau are the members of his squad yet to report for duty ahead of the crucial back-toback 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Seychelles.
Baxter said striker Tau and Phiri boarded the same flight in Europe and both were expected to touch down in Johannesburg later on Monday.
“We are waiting for Dino Ndlovu. His flight was a little longer than anybody else’s‚” Baxter said on Monday.
Bafana meet Seychelles at the FNB Stadium on Saturday in the first match and then head to the 189th-ranked Indian Ocean islanders on Sunday for the return fixture next Tuesday.
Late fitness scans will determine whether Mamelodi Sundowns right back Thapelo Morena and Orlando Pirates winger Vincent Pule‚ who came to the camp with niggling injuries‚ will remain with the team or not.
“I arrived at the Sundowns game against Wits on Sunday and found that Morena had just pulled a hamstring in the warmup‚” Baxter said.
“We will get them scanned, and … we are going to make a call on whether we need to call [up] replacements into the squad or we can manage them and get them fit for the first or the second match.”
The Bafana coach revealed that he has roped in former Bafana striker Shaun Bartlett as one of his temporary assistants for these two matches.
“Shaun has entered into an agreement with the association‚” he said. “I think it’s more game by game in the beginning. But obviously we are looking at bringing Shaun into the staff.”
Bafana are placed second behind Libya with four points on goal difference in Group E‚ with Nigeria third with three points and Seychelles at the bottom with zero points.