Notoane’s Under-23 squad hit by injuries

South African national Under-23 coach David Notoane has explained why he had to leave AmaZulu FC defender Sibusiso Mabiliso behind following their departure to Saudi Arabia, where they are set to play two friendly matches against the Middle Eastern country.

But Mabiliso is not the only player who has been left behind. Athenkosi Dlala, Keletso Makgalwa and Lyle Foster are all missing from the squad due to injuries.

“We had initially roped in Athenkosi Dlala, Keletso Makgalwa and Sibusiso Mabiliso to be part of the squad. We decided not to travel with Sibusiso Mabiliso because he had a family bereavement he had to attend to. And due to the Coronavirus health protocols, our medical staff advised us that it would not be wise to bring a player into camp who might have been exposed to large gatherings,” Notoane was quoted as saying by Safa.net.

“Mabiliso is a brilliant player, one that has graduated through our SAFA junior national teams and is also doing well in his respective club. We will definitely have him over in one of our camps as we continue with our preparations for next year’s Olympics. Another player who could not join the team due to injury is Victoria Guimaraes’ Lyle Foster.”

With the main objective being preparing the team for the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games, Notoane has ambitions for the games and says he wants to see the team going beyond the group stages.

 “One always has to have ambition and show growth in whatever they do. Ours is to perform well in the upcoming Olympic Games. We are quite aware that our National Under-23s are yet to progress into the knockout stages in this major world sporting event. We want to break that hoodoo. My personal ambition is to go out there with a squad strong enough to fight for a medal for our country.”

The national Under-23 side landed in Saudi Arabia on Thursday and are expected to go into quarantine for two days before they start with their training ahead of matches.

The first match will be played on 14 November and the second game is set for three days later.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.