Johannesburg - Bafana Bafana have been ravaged by no fewer than 12 withdrawals ahead of their African Nations Championships (Chan) qualifier against Mauritius at the Dobsonville Stadium, on Saturday.
The squad of 23 which did duty against Angola in a 2-1 international friendly win in Cape Town now has just 11 players left, with coach Shakes Mashaba left scurrying to bring more players in ahead of their clash on the weekend.
The remaining players are Thapelo Monare, Itumeleng Khune, Jackson Mabokgwane,Marc van Heerden, Mandla Masango, Sphelele Ntshangase, Gift Motupa, Vuyisile Wana, Bonginkosi Ntuli, Tshepo Gumede and Thamsanqa Gabuza.
Bafana were originally scheduled to have a training session at AW Muller Stadium at the University of Johannesburg on Thursday morning, before it was rescheduled to the afternoon. The session was later cancelled. The SA Football session initially said the session had been scheduled due to unforeseen circumstances.
The session was rescheduled for Friday morning, and then again moved to later in the day. Safa then finally revealed the team had been dealt the withdrawals blow and was the reason behind the players not training.
Since the biennial tournament began in 2009, Bafana have participated twice and reached the quarter-finals in 2011. They did not manage to make it out of the group stages in 2014, when they hosted the tournament.
The event is unique in that only players who participate in local football leagues can be eligible for selection.
Whether clubs will heed the desperate call of Mashaba to release players remains to be seen.
ANA