Pitso’s Bafana blow: Maboe’s ankle puts recall on ice
Pitso Mosimane wanted Lebohang Maboe to be part of his team as he begins his second stint as Bafana Bafana coach. But football had other ideas.
The Kaizer Chiefs playmaker reported for Bafana camp with a “niggling” ankle injury after hobbling off in Sunday’s goalless draw against Golden Arrows. No tackle. No kick. Just tender.
“You can see that he was never even kicked by anybody,” Mosimane said. “So it’s tender.
“The doctor has briefed me that we should be careful with him and give him a chance.”
Maboe stays in camp. That is the good news – for now at least. The scan will decide the rest.
“We have a three-week camp. He’s going for a scan, and the scan will tell us how far he is.”
This was supposed to be a homecoming. Maboe’s first Bafana call-up under Mosimane, five years after his last cap. He had worked his way back through his Chiefs form. Now he sits, waiting on pictures of a joint that gave way on its own.
“He has worked hard to be in the team,” added Mosimane. “He should be disappointed by the injury. Sometimes it’s football. Let’s hope Lebo recovers and then go for it.”
Bafana host Guinea at Orlando Amstel Arena. Then visit Eritrea in Cairo. All in the Caf Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Then they play Egypt in a friendly.
That equals three weeks of camp. But one scan is standing between Mosimane’s midfield plan and another what-if.
Chiefs lose their creator. Bafana lose a recall story. Maboe loses the moment he earned.
Football, as Pitso said, sometimes just happens.
