Bafana Bafana veteran Temba “Mshishi” Zwane will be “out for months “after suffering an Achilles tendon injury in their 1-1 African Cup of Nations qualifier draw with Congo in Brazzaville on Tuesday.
Zwane kicked the ball out of play in the 39th minute and went down immediately before being stretchered off the pitch.
And coach Hugo Broos admits the early prognosis does not look good for the 35-year-old Mamelodi Sundowns playmaker.
Broos says of Mshishi, who played his 50th match for South Africa in the home leg against Congo: “He is a very important player for us. It was not a good thing for us that Temba had to go out with an injury. It is a big injury, his Achilles [tendon], he will be out for months.”
When Zwane went down, Bafana were still in control of the match and led 1-0. But when he he left the pitch the tide started to turn in favour of the hosts.
And Broos adds: “When you lose such an important player, it’s difficult in a game where you are dominated because Temba is someone who can keep the ball…
“He wasn’t there and maybe that was a reason why we didn’t play so well.”
The draw means Bafana Bafana have to wait a while longer before booking their place in the continental competition in Morocco.
With eight points and second to Uganda (10), Bafana can still be caught by Congo, who have four points, with two games left to play.
But one win or even two draws in their final matches against Uganda – away on November 11 – and South Sudan at home a week later, will be enough to see them through.
Zwane, though, is expected to miss both those two big games through injury.