Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter says Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune will need to prove his match-fitness before he can be considered for 2019 Africa Cup of Nations squad.
Baxter said the 31-year-old, who has been side-lined with a shoulder injury since early January, will need to play some games for Chiefs in the final weeks of the Absa Premiership campaign if he is to make the cut for the continental showpiece in Egypt.
South Africa have been drawn in Group D alongside Ivory Coast, Namibia and Morocco of the tournament which kicks off on June 21.
“Khune is training fully [at Chiefs] and it’s now a matter of being match fit,” Baxter told SowetanLIVE website.
“He will have to play games before we could consider him. But I will be in contact obviously, through Lee (Baxter’s son) and through Chiefs to monitor his progress from here until the end of the season.”
Wits’ Darren Keet is the obvious replacement for Khune, having produced an inspired performance in Bafana’s 2-1 victory over Libya, which ultimately secured their qualification.
Bafana Bafana will kick-off the tournament against powerhouses Ivory Coast on Monday, June 24, 2019.
Four days later, Stuart Baxter’s charges take on Namibia (Friday, June 28) and round off the group stages with a tricky encounter against Morocco on Monday, July 1.
Should South Africa progress to the knockout stages they would take part in the Round of 16 beginning on July 5, with the quarter-finals on July 10/11, the semi-finals on July 14 and the final taking place on July 19.
