Gcaba called up to replace Phungwayo
11 January 2015 – Orlando Pirates defender Ayanda Gcaba has been called up to replace club mate Patrick Phungwayo, who was withdrawn from the Bafana Bafana squad due to knee injury.
Gcaba is expected in Libreville, Gabon on Tuesday, 13 January to join his compatriots who have set up camp in preparation for the CAF Orange Africa Cup of Nations Equatorial Guinea 2015 tournament.
But before then, he will undergo medical assessment tomorrow (Monday, 12 January) and get his visa.
Phungwayo returned home to South Africa on Saturday night (10 January) after undergoing an MRI scan which revealed that he had a tear that needed time to heal.
"It is very unfortunate that we lost Phungwayo but such is life. I would like to thank his club for releasing him to help our cause. We looking forward to working with him again in future," said Bafana Bafana coach Ephraim Shakes Mashaba.
"And to the new player we say welcome, we look forward to you joining us and working here in Gabon. We know like every player this is a chance you have been waiting for and hope you make a success of it. I have always said that players should be ready for a call-up and he has shown his readiness. Once again thanks to the club for the full cooperation shown in dealing with this matter, we really appreciate the support given to the national team."
Bafana Bafana are in the same group with Algeria, Ghana and Senegal at the AFCON 2015 tournament.