Tokelo Rantie. Photo: Kabiru Abubakar/Gallo Images.
Rantie has been working to get back to full fitness after joining the Citizens during the last transfer period as a free agent, having spent close to a season without playing football.
McCarthy hopes Rantie will be fit in time for the clash.
“We are hopeful – he’s been mainly working with the fitness coach and the physio as he’s had a setback,” McCarthy told reporters.
“We pushed him really hard because we wanted him to get back into shape and the level where we know he can hurt teams in this league as he’s one of the best strikers out there in the country.
“And we want him at his best, but by pushing him he’s had a couple of setbacks. His hamstring is a bit tight, so we’ve now reduced his workload to see how he responds.
“If we get the okay by [Wednesday] then hopefully we can go into Thursday with the possibility that he might be there.
“There might be the possibility that he might be there and we might have him available for a cameo appearance.”
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.