Sport

Blow to Khumalo’s Premiership hopes

July 28, 2010 Edition 1

Soccer

SuperSport United captain and Bafana Bafana central defender Bongani Khumalo has been ruled out of the friendly international against Ghana at Soccer City on August 11 because of injury.

This was revealed yesterday by United coach Gavin Hunt, who said the tough-tackling central defender had injured his ankle ligaments and would be out of action for at least two weeks.

The injury is a blow to the 23-year-old’s hopes of getting a contract with English Premiership club Tottenham Hotspur or with Glasgow Rangers.

Khumalo was one of the emerging stars for Bafana at the World Cup, where his gutsy and intelligent play attracted the attention of Rangers and Spurs.

Rangers manager Walter Smith said he was keen to sign Khumalo and his international team-mate, striker Katlego Mphela, who plays for Mamelodi Sundowns.

Mphela has also been a target of former Rangers manager Alex McLeish, who is now in charge of English Premiership outfit Birmingham City.

Hunt had no option but to rule out his skipper for Sunday night’s African Confederations Cup third round, second leg showdown against FUS in the Moroccan capital Rabat.

The South African champions won the first leg played at the Super Stadium 2-1.

Hunt has also told his captain he will not be playing for Bafana against Ghana in a friendly international in preparation for Bafana’s first 2012 African Nations Cup qualifier against Niger at home in September.

Explained Hunt: “I need to get Khumalo fit for the Absa Premiership season which kicks off at the end of August when we play BidVest Wits away.

“I hope to have him ready for that clash (at Milpark on August 28) but there is no chance he will travel with the squad to Rabat or be ready to play for Bafana against Ghana.”

Hunt is also in the dark about Khumalo’s trials with Spurs and Rangers.

“As United’s coach I am the last to know about player movements. It is not an ideal situation reading in the newspapers where my players are intending to play in the coming season.

“The game is now all about agents, but at this stage he is still contracted to United.”

Khumalo will have to wait at least a couple of weeks for his injury to heal before he decides on his future.

Hunt has more pressing problems before his trip to North Africa. He will travel with a squad of 13 players and will be without a back-up goalkeeper.

He will again field third choice keeper Jacob Mokhasi as his only other registered keeper with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for this tournament. Emille Baron is still recovering from a serious injury.

Hunt recently transferred his other keeper, Denis Onyango, to Mpumalanga Black Aces.

Apart from Khumalo, Hunt travels to Morocco minus his experienced striker, Glen Salmon, who broke down again with the same knee injury that sidelined him at the end of last season.

Because of CAF rules he is unable to sign replacements for Onyango or other players who have left the club in the off-season. “If I had my full squad I would have murdered FUS home or away, but we go to Rabat on a wing and prayer. We’ll do our best with 13 players.”

Hunt has signed goalkeeper Wayne Brown, who has played more than 500 times for English League Two side Bury.

Meanwhile, if Bafana Bafana’s Steven Pienaar stays at Everton – and no one but his agent seems to know exactly what he is doing – he had better get used to the idea of playing his football without the deafening sound of vuvuzelas.

Vuvuzelas have now been banned by eight English Premier League clubs – including Everton.

The eight clubs are Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Birmingham City, Liverpool, Sunderland, West Ham United, Fulham and Everton.

Top Bafana scorer Benni McCarthy, who plays for West Ham, has come out in whole-hearted support of the ban while describing the incessant sound as anti-football for the players and anti-musical for the spectators

And apparently sharing McCarthy’s views is the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, which has banned the vuvuzela at all sporting events on its terrain, the Wimbledon tennis championships, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the Yankee Stadium in New York, the Fuji Rock Festival, the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and a good many others. – Sapa