TAU INJURY BLUES
SUGGESTS THE STRIKER HAVE AN EXTENDED BREAK The Bafana coach concedes that the Al-Ahly player may even miss the Afcon qualifiers in June.
Hugo Broos says he is worried about persistent injuries affecting Percy Tau, after the Bafana Bafana striker was ruled out of the up-coming friendly internationals against Guinea and France.
Tau picked up a knee injury at his Egyptian side Al-Ahly that is set to leave him on the sidelines for some time, with Broos even suggesting he could miss the start of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in June.
“There has been a bit of a problem with Percy since September,” said Broos.
“He was injured with Ahly (last
year) and he was not here for the two games (World Cup qualifiers) against Ethiopia.
“When he came to the games against Zimbabwe and Ghana he was not 100%, he returned with an injury, and now he is injured again.
“I hope one day it will stop. “He is a very important player for us. I am also a bit afraid we will have a problem with Tau for June. I hope it is not like that but now he is out for weeks with a knee problem, it is not a good thing for us,” added the Bafana coach, who confirmed that Royal AM striker Victor Letsoalo has been called up in his place.
Broos even suggested that it might be better for Tau to have an extended period without playing at all.
“It is not a surprise (that he has these injury problems). In June with the transfer to Ahly (from English Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion) he didn’t train so much, he didn’t play so much then he played two tough games (against Zimbabwe
and Ghana) with an injury. Then he started playing for Ahly, he got another injury.
“It will be good for Percy now if he trained for six months without playing, just because his physical basics are not good. Every time he plays he is overloaded and then you get injuries.
“He is playing too many games and is falling from injury to injury.”
Bafana will play Guinea in Belgium on Friday and France in Lille next Tuesday and Broos has been able to call on the rest of his squad, despite injury concerns over Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Mothobi Mvala and Orlando Pirates midfielder Thabang Monare.
Broos added that he would use every player in his 23-man squad in the two friendlies.
“Every player will play at least one game, maybe some will play more, because we still have to be a bit careful with players injured in the weeks before (these matches), so that we don’t injure them again,” he said.