Bitegeko injury leaves Chiefs with just one player on international duty

Kaizer Chiefs will have only one player away with a senior national team during the current international break after Lebohang Maboe was left out by Bafana Bafana and Adolf Mtasingwa Bitegeko was ruled out of Tanzania’s squad through injury.

Flavio Silva is the sole Chiefs representative in the latest international selections, with the forward travelling to Morocco for Guinea-Bissau’s meeting with Madagascar on Thursday.

The fixture has been moved to Morocco because Madagascar do not have a stadium approved by CAF. The return match between the two countries will take place in Bissau on November 17.

Silva has only recently returned from injury at Chiefs, but remains part of Guinea-Bissau coach Emiliano Te’s plans despite having scored once this season.

Bitegeko, meanwhile, will miss Tanzania’s two Group L matches against Nigeria over the next seven days after being omitted from the Taifa Stars squad.

The midfielder was called up by Tanzania coach Miguel Gamondi for the previous camp, when the team faced Guinea-Bissau and Madagascar, but did not make an appearance. He has not featured in any of Chiefs’ six matches since then.

His absence from the national team is injury-related and comes after a slow start to life at Chiefs. Bitegeko has played in only four matches for the club, with none of those appearances lasting from the opening whistle to the final whistle.

Tanzania have already secured their place at next year’s finals as one of the three co-hosts, alongside Kenya and Uganda. Bitegeko’s progress during the remainder of the season at Chiefs will be important as he seeks a place in Tanzania’s final squad for the PAMOJA tournament, which runs from June 19 to July 17, 2027.

The international break will therefore provide Chiefs coach Fernando da Cruz with a reduced squad, despite the club initially expecting more players to be involved with their countries.