AFCON 2023: Major Boost for Super Eagles As Bafana Bafana Star Ruled Out of Semi-Final Tie
- Thapelo Maseko, South Africa's star player, has been ruled out of the African Cup of Nations semi-final clash against Nigeria
- Coach Hugo Broos gave this update during a pre-match press briefing for the semi-final contest
- Despite being 20, Maseko played in every match for Bafana during the tournament while starting only once
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Hugo Broos, the head coach of Bafana Bafana, has stated that Thapelo Maseko will be absent for the remainder of the AFCON due to a hamstring injury.
Maseko, a prominent player for Sundowns, suffered the injury in extra time during South Africa's quarter-final victory over Cape Verde and was promptly substituted.
Source: Getty Images
We won't be replacing Maseko, says Broos
Giving an update on Maseko's availability, Broos, as quoted by The South African, said:
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“A little update on the injured player Thapelo Maseko – he has a grade three muscle injury, so the tournament is over for him.
“But he stays with us, so he doesn’t go back to South Africa [immediately], and we won’t replace him.
"There are too many issues with [getting] a visa, a flight, and if we were to replace him, the player would arrive when? Thursday, or worst case maybe Friday?
“So, we don’t want to do that, and we even have opportunities to solve that problem in the squad, so for that [reason] Thapelo will not be replaced, but the tournament for him is finished.”
According to SABC Sports, the 20-year-old Maseko had participated in all of Bafana's matches in the tournament, though he only started once, in the group stage opener against Mali.
Unfortunately, he will not be available for the upcoming semi-final against Nigeria or any subsequent matches in the tournament.
AFCON 2023: Victor Osimhen cleared to play South Africa in semi-final clash
Elsewhere, Africa's best player, Victor Osimhen, was declared fit by the Super Eagles camp to face South Africa in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) semi-finals.
Speculations about Osimhen's unavailability for the AFCON semi-final tie against South Africa started on Monday, February 5.
The announcement sparked a series of conversations on how to go about the recovery of the Napoli hitman.
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Source: Legit.ng
