A groin injury has ended Montpellier midfielder Keagan Dolly's hopes of shining for Bafana Bafana on the continental stage in the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Egypt.
Dolly's participation had been in doubt since the weekend. He was forced to pull out of Bafana's Cosafa Cup match against Botswana on Sunday, which ended in a penalty shoot-out defeat for the South Africans.
It was subsequently confirmed by the national team doctor Thulani Ngwenya that Dolly will not be making the trip to Egypt for the Afcon tournament which kicks off on June 21.
"He is completely out of the Afcon. There is no chance that his groin injury will recover in time," Ngwenya said.
It's been a tough year for Dolly, whose progress with France top-flight club Montpellier has been hampered by a broken leg and then a hamstring strain. He featured in only three Ligue 1 matches last season.
The former Mamelodi Sundowns and Ajax Cape Town playmaker had been drafted into Bafana's Cosafa Cup by his own request – as a means to increase his match fitness ahead of Afcon.
All players have arrived in camp to start preparations for AFCON pic.twitter.com/aEf6SJz8Te
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) June 3, 2019
South Africa open their Group D campaign against Ivory Coast on June 24. Also in the group are Morocco and Namibia.
Dolly's international experience would have been a plus, although Bafana Bafana head coach Stuart Baxter does at least have numerous options in terms of attacking midfielders at his disposal, including the likes of Bongani Zungu, Thulani Serero, Themba Zwane, Thembinkosi Lorch and Lebohang Maboe.
Baxter is still to announce his final 23-man squad. His initial 30-man squad included FC Zurich right-back Joel Untersee and Crystal Palace centre-back Nikola Tavares, but a delay in getting the pair's South African passports issued has put their potential participation at Afcon in doubt.
The national team began their pre-Afcon camp on Monday, at the Steyn City School in Johannesburg, with 24 players in attendance.
Baxter was assisted by Molefi Ntseki and Andre Arendse, with newly-appointed player liaison manager Mark Fish also part of the session.
SA's Cosafa squad, basically an under-23 team led by coach David Notoane, will meanwhile meet Uganda in a Plate semifinal at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Tuesday evening.
African News Agency