Mkhalele to scramble for Bafana players

Bafana Bafana assistant coach Helman Mkhalele will be scrambling for players ahead of the national team™s African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifier away to Comoros on Friday.

Two club bosses have confirmed that their players have been ordered back to their DStv Premiership clubs for pre-season, just days after the completion of the COSAFA Cup in Durban.

Mkhalele had selected a youthful side for the regional tournament, in which Bafana got fifth place, and had said he was using it to build a squad that will feature in the U23 Olympic Games qualifiers later this year.

But that team is now expected to look a lot different with SuperSport United and Maritzburg United telling SABC Sport that their players have been withdrawn from the traveling party due to depart on Wednesday.

œWe are not releasing [players]. Our three boys [captain Kegan Johannes, Thapelo Maseko and Selaelo Rasebotja] hardly had any off-season and were released for COSAFA, but now we have a new coach [Gavin Hunt], who has not worked with them and we are two weeks away from the league season. So we simply, cannot release them at this time, said SuperSport CEO Stan Matthews.

œWe remain committed to SAFA and the national teams and make every effort to release players, even when it™s not in the FIFA calendar. It™s unfortunate that we cannot release these players at this time.

Maritzburg chairman Farouk Kadodia was very brief but echoed Matthews' initial sentiments: œYes, Rowan Human is coming back [to the club].

There is some hope though, with Chippa United taking a different approach by allowing both Zuko Mdunyelwa and Azola Matrose to travel with Bafana for the first leg of the CHAN qualifier this weekend.

œThey came back after the COSAFA Cup but we have opted to give them permission to go represent their country, said Chippa team manager Wanda Mbenguzana when contacted for comment by the public broadcaster's sports desk.

Another club that had a lot of players in the 23-man squad initially called up by Mkhalele was Stellenbosch FC, with a total representation of four.

œAs it stands, only Athenkosi Mcaba was selected but he has an injury and we are still in talks about allowing him to go. The other three [Jayden Adams, Antonia Van Wyk and Lebohang Nthene] have returned for pre-season, confirmed coach Steve Barker to SABC Sport on Tuesday afternoon.

By Mazola Molefe