Bafana take hard knocks

Gordon Igesund must be wondering if his dream job is turning into something of a nightmare.

The Bafana boss long harboured ambitions of taking over the national team but now finds an increasingly long injury list sabotaging his best-laid plans as he seeks to prepare the team for the 2013 African Nations Cup finals.

A serious groin injury suffered by Thulani Serero at the weekend did not get the requisite headlines as the severity of the setback failed to make an immediate impact but it will slowly dawn on South Africa that yet another key player is likely to be missing from January's tournament.

Serero, who has a muscle tear that will take until at least December to heal, joins Morgan Gould on the list of players whose hopes of playing in next January's tournament are tenuous at best.

Gould had surgery on an Achilles tendon last month and is also expected to not see any action again this year. The tough-tackling back missed out on the World Cup with a similar injury.

The two injuries take out the team's key central defender and the potential playmaker. Serero's match-winning ability marked him out as a potential star of the Nations Cup but now his likely absence adds an extra burden onto the shoulders of captain Steven Pienaar, who is again under a cloud for missing the last two friendlies.

Pienaar ducked out of the long trip earlier this month to Brazil all too easily after picking up a slight knock at Everton, which despite his protestations calls into question his commitment to the Nations Cup cause.

There is already a paucity of talent in attack as evidence by Igesund's enthusiastic, but not convincing, choice and recommendation of journeyman striker Thamsanqa Gabuza from Lamontville Golden Arrows for the last national squad.

None of his other new additions impressed either, even Dean Furman, who conducted the midfield like an air traffic controller but turned over possession all too easily when put under pressure.

Katlego Mphela's rehabilitation from knee surgery is taking longer than expected, leaving two 35-year-olds as a next best solution.

But Benni McCarthy will be out for at least the next five weeks with a hamstring tear, and Siyabonga Nomvethe has already had one injury setback this season.

Given the frequency with which both have spent time on the treatment table during their careers, there is even more for the coach to fret over.

Right-back Anele Ngcongca also missed the Brazil game but is back training with his Belgian club. Understudy Happy Jele has had another injury setback at Orlando Pirates though.

First-choice left-back Tsepo Masilela has not played since June and has a troublesome knee injury that has flared up repeatedly over the past two years and left his future in doubt.

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