Pitso Mosimane confirms most of Bafana Bafana squad are in camp ahead of Kenya qualifiers

Bafana Bafana head coach Pitso Mosimane says most of his squad have reported for duty as South Africa begin preparations for their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying double-header against Kenya.

South Africa will face Kenya at Orlando Stadium on Friday in the opening match of the two-game international window. The return fixture will be played in Nairobi four days later.

Mosimane said the locally based players had arrived, while the remaining international players were expected to join the camp as they became available.

He also revealed that the medical team was monitoring several players who had picked up knocks during weekend club matches, although no serious injury had yet been confirmed.

“All well, no complaints at the moment, everyone that’s supposed to be in camp is here, local players are all there, they came yesterday, some international players today, in the morning and some others are in different time zones,” Mosimane said.

“The US players were playing early on Sunday morning, so we expect them to arrive this evening so we can have a full team. So far from the players who have arrived, the doctor has given us the green light.

“But obviously from the matches on the weekend, we have those knocks that could be okay in a few days, we still have to assess those who played early on the Sunday morning or afternoon, depending on the time zone in USA. Then we can have a full update of injuries.”

The former Mamelodi Sundowns coach said the timing of international fixtures often makes it difficult to establish the full fitness of a squad immediately, with players travelling from different leagues and time zones.

He explained that some players could arrive with minor knocks and require additional time before they are ready to train or play.

“I think the medical team and Mninawa [Ntloko] will let you know if there’s any concern, you know how it is in the national team who is available until maybe three days before the match to be honest, because some might come with small knocks, some may need a day or two to shake off the knocks we had,” he continued.

“That’s the life of international football as coach, you don’t have four, five days as you want, the other one and a half days are used for travelling and those small knocks and injuries, but so far so good, no big complaints.

“We will see now in training, who is feeling what, it’s not easy to tell but we are good.”

The Bafana Bafana medical staff will continue assessing the players in the lead-up to Friday’s meeting with Kenya. Mosimane said a clearer update on any injury concerns would be provided once those examinations and the initial training sessions had been completed.