Broos slams dishonest clubs over player withdrawals

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos wasn't too pleased to see Percy Tau play for Al Ahly on Sunday after he'd asked to be excused from Bafana, also implying Mamelodi Sundowns haven't been honest about players' injuries in recent times.

Tau, who netted a brilliant brace when Al Ahly beat Ismaily 3-1 in the league, has been withdrawn from the Bafana squad to face Eswatini and Ivory Coast in friendlies due to "family reasons".

Kaizer Chiefs' Mduduzi Mdantsane has since replaced Tau. Bafana host Eswatini at FNB Stadium on Friday (6pm), before jetting off to Ivory Coast for the second match four days later.

"I had contact with Percy last week and he said for family reasons he wouldn't like to be here with us, and I understood it but on the other hand I am not amused that he played yesterday with Al Ahly,'' Broos said during a media conference at Tuks High Performance Centre in Pretoria yesterday.

"Unfortunately this camp is again disturbed by injuries like last month. We had [Bathusi] Aubaas, [Thapelo] Morena, [Innocent] Maela and [Thapelo] Maseko [missing the camp]. Maseko is something different... it's the second time that we have that surprise that the player is injured then suddenly he plays.

"Last month it happened with [Khuliso] Mudau and this month it's Maseko [who came off the bench in Sundowns' MTN8 final penalty shootout defeat to Orlando Pirates at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday]."

Broos has called for better communication between himself and clubs, urging them to also understand he desperately needs players to have thorough preparations for the World Cup qualifiers and Afcon.

"I think we need better communication between me, our national team and clubs so that we really, really know how much the player is injured and if he's not ready to come to the national team,'' the Bafana trainer said.

"So, I think clubs have to understand that in very important periods they want to have their players but it's the same case for me, for us as the national team... we are in a very important period at the moment. We are in preparations for [the World Cup] qualifiers next month and we are also preparing for Afcon in January. I hope for a little bit more collaboration from that side."