Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has explained the decision to not replace winger Thapelo Maseko who sustained a serious knee injury that has ruled him out for the remainder of the AFCON.
Maseko suffered an injury during Bafana's victory against Cape Verde shortly after coming on as a substitute on Saturday.
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KickOff reported that the Sundowns attacker would not recover in time to play any further part in the continental competition.
Although Iqraam Rayners, Elias Mokwana and Tapelo Xoki are stand-by players, Broos has now confirmed that Maseko's AFCON is over and explained why the attacker would not be replaced.
"A little update about the injured player Thapelo Maseko," Broos explained during his pre-match press conference ahead of the semi-final clash against Nigeria.
"So, he has a muscle injury, Grade 3. So, the tournament is almost finished, but he stays with us. He doesn't go to South Africa,"
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"And we don't replace him. There are (will be) problems with the visa and flights. If we should replace him, the player will arrive on Thursday or, in the worst case, maybe Friday.
"So, we don't want to do that, and we have the opportunity to solve the problem in the group. For that, Thapelo will not be replaced."
Next for Bafana is a semi-final clash against The Super Eagles to be played on Wednesday. Kick-off is at 19:00.
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