Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos says there’s one player not in his current squad that he’s hoping to have available for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and 2026 FIFA World Cup next year.
The Bafana boss named a youthful 23-man squad to face Lesotho and Nigeria in their upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Bloemfontein next month with 12 players under the age of 25 while Zuko Mdunyelwa (26) earned his maiden national team call-up.
However, a player notably absent is Mamelodi Sundowns captain, Themba Zwane, who suffered an injury, which was confirmed will keep him out for the next two months.
Zwane suffered a serious Achilles tendon injury with Bafana in October 2024 during an AFCON qualifier against Congo Brazzaville, and has not represented the country since.
“You know this is not a surprise for me, at that age, with that injury he had, I was afraid it was the end of the career of Themba – it was not a little muscle injury, it was his Achilles, he worked very hard and I think now he’s paying the bill a bit,” Broos explained.
“Before, Themba was never injured… it’s a but ‘normal’ what’s happening to him – I think he’s fully recovered, but in future, Sundowns has to be careful with him, at that age, after such an injury – you can’t ask a player to play every game.
“Certainly, taking in account of his age, so they have to be careful with him in future, otherwise I’m afraid Themba will go from one injury to another, and I count on him – I hope he will be good and that we can count on him in the next months, for AFCON and even for the World Cup.”
Zwane has scored 12 goals with three assists in 51 caps for the national team, with 10 of those goal contributions coming in 21 appearances under Broos.
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