Injury Blow: Sifiso Hlanti Out for Months, Coach Stuart Baxter Weighs in

• Bafana Bafana and Kaizer Chiefs defender Sifiso Hlanti has suffered an injury blow and coach Stuart Baxter weighed in on the matter
• Hlanti stepped awkwardly during training on Thursday, leading to him rupturing his Achilles and keeping him out for the rest of the season
• This is a blow for the seasoned defender, who had recently been called up back to the national team for the World Cup qualifiers

With a terrible injury sustained in training on Thursday, in-form left-back Sifiso Hlanti appears set to miss the remainder of the 2021-22 season, Kaizer Chiefs boss Stuart Baxter confirmed ahead of Saturday's DStv Premiership Soweto derby against Orlando Pirates.

Hlanti had merely stepped awkwardly in training at Chiefs' Village in Naturena on Thursday morning, according to Baxter, and the medical staff informed him after the session that the Bafana Bafana left-back had a significant Achilles rupture.

"We had done everything, we were in the last two minutes of the 15 minutes playing, Sifiso hit a long, cross-field pass, he was back-pedalling, he put his foot down behind him and I’m not joking, everybody within 20-metres heard it. It was like a pistol shot," said Baxter according to SowetanLIVE.

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The defender had established himself as a key member of Baxter's first team, and his recent performances had earned him a call-up to the Bafana Bafana side.

Meanwhile, according to KickOff, Bernard Parker claims that his teammates will never get used to playing without the support of their fans ahead of the derby, which is regarded as one of the most important sporting events in the world.

"It's something that we'll never get used to. I was hoping that this weekend, the fans would come back as we've seen in international matches," said Parker.

Keagan Dolly and Percy Tau called back to Bafana Bafana squad

In other Bafana Bafana news, Briefly News reported that Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has selected his final 24-man squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Ghana and Zimbabwe.

Keagan Dolly made the final cut and so has Percy Tau, who recently had some injury problems. Dolly has been superb for Kaizer Chiefs lately and this has earned him a place back in the squad.

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The player had previously fallen down the pecking order after having some injury issues of his own, leading to him not featuring much for both club and country.

Portuguese-based defender Thibang Phete has also made the squad and Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams will be leading the team once again according to The Citizen.