Pienaar limps off
A CLOUD of despondency descended on the Bafana camp yesterday after Steven Pienaar collapsed at training, grimacing in pain after a 50-50 tackle with Happy Jele.
The general feeling among his teammates at Rand Stadium in Johannesburg was that he could miss the vital Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Egypt that has been scheduled for the Military Stadium in Cairo on Sunday night (8.30pm kickoff).
Pienaar has been battling with a groin injury he sustained at his English Premiership side Tottenham Hotspur, but put his country before club when he postponed an operation.
An anxious coach Pitso Mosimane did his outmost to play down his concern, but did admit the influential midfielder was doubtful for the match.
"You all saw him (Pienaar) going into a 50-50 challenge with Happy and obviously injured his ligament," said the Bafana coach.
"But he is definitely going to Cairo," Mosimane said. "The doctor is checking up on him and he'll go for a scan if necessary. We have two days before (the Egypt match), so let's see. As a coach I'll wait until the very last moment to take a decision.
"I've suffered such injuries during my playing days and I understand injuries are part of football."
Pressed on a worst-case scenario, Mosimane said: "I don't want to get emotional about it. What can we do if he can't make it? We have 23 players in the team and I'm not worried about losing only Pienaar. It'll be the same for any member of the team. They are all important to the cause."
The good news for the nation is that Bafana have covered a lot of ground and Mosimane is pleased with preparations so far.
"We've placed more emphasis on tactics, but I'm well aware it'll be more of a mental game against Egypt," Mosimane said.
"We've done everything and we'll need a bit of luck. We may also need to invoke some divine intervention. But I believe luck comes with hard work and we'll have to sweat out there."
Should Pienaar fail to recover, his assistant Siphiwe Tshabalala will be handed the captain's armband, Mosimane confirmed.
"The game plan won't change, even if Steven doesn't recover. History has taught me not to mess with tactics. Besides, it's quite late at this stage to be reworking a game plan." Bafana flew out to Cairo last night.