Helman Mkhalele will take charge of Bafana Bafana’s friendly against Uganda at 6pm tonight after the South African Football Association (Safa) yesterday announced that Cedomir Janevski has tested positive for Covid-19.
It’s a nightmare start to new boss Hugo Broos’ tenure with assistant Janevski’s status following news that star man Percy Tau and midfielder Teboho Mokoena also tested positive, with Broos at home in Belgium for his coronavirus vaccination.
Broos’ other assistant, Mkhalele, will now be the only member of the technical team on the Orlando Stadium bench, if the game even goes ahead.
With the rest of the squad testing negative, Safa and their Ugandan counterparts made no decision to call off the game at the time of print.
Bafana team doctor Tshepo Molobi said in a statement: “We continue to check for clinical symptoms and encourage the staff to wear masks without failure, practice social distance and everyone is accommodated separately.”
Former Bafana ace Mkhalele, meanwhile, has dared his players to write a new history for the team, starting tonight.
He told the players: “You are by far better than Uganda and if you believe in yourself, you have an opportunity to start your own history for the country going forward. Go and make yourself and the country proud.”
All eyes will be on Bafana’s strikers tonight, with Thabiso Kutumela and Evidence Makgopa still to debut and Bongokuhle Hlongwane having made just one appearance in a 2019 defeat to Lesotho. Meanwhile, Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Njabulo Blom received a late call-up squad yesterday.