Bafana Bafana defender Siyabonga Ngezana is in a race against time to be ready for the World Cup as he is due to undergoing knee surgery.
According to reports, the 28-year-old felt some discomfort ahead of his Romanian club FCSB’s Liga 1 clash against Botoșani, and was removed from the team as a result. After an MRI scan, it was discovered he had a damaged meniscus.
FCSB head coach Mihai Stoica then went as far as to say he suspected Ngezana had been playing with the injury for some time, but kept it secret as he didn’t want it to jeopardise his place in the national team in a World Cup year.
“Ngezana will undergo surgery,” the coach said, as per Soccer Laduma. “I think he will be out for about 6 weeks. He has a meniscus injury.”
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Stoica continued: “We don’t understand why such a valuable player would have such a steep decline, but he was injured and playing with problems. At least now the mystery has been solved.”
Due to the injury, Ngezana is unlikely to feature for Bafana Bafana in next month’s pair of friendlies against Panama, scheduled to be played between 27 and 31 March. However, should he return to action within six weeks, he will have plenty of time to convince Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos he is ready to get on the plane to North America for the global showpiece.
While the setback comes at the worst possible time, Ngezana will be hoping a successful operation and smooth recovery can put him back on track ahead of the World Cup.
With his experience and recent form making him a key figure in Broos’ plans, the coming weeks will be crucial as both club and country wait to see whether the defender can recover in time to stake his claim for a place in Bafana Bafana’s final squad for the tournament.
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