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Bidvest Wits defender Sifiso Hlanti will miss the start of the 2019/20 season after he underwent a knee operation on Friday.
The left back is also set to miss Bafana Bafana’s first qualifier for the 2021 Afcon against Ghana on November 15, and will most likely miss the second qualifier against Sudan in South Africa, four days after the Ghana match.
The 29-year-old got the knee injury during the quarterfinal match against Nigeria at the Afcon tournament in Egypt earlier this month.
The look on Wits coach Gavin Hunt’s face during a press conference on Friday said it all. The four-time PSL winning coach was unwilling to share the news of his important player’s injury.
Before Hunt spoke, Wits’ chief executive Jose Ferreira had to intervene as Hunt attempted to keep the injury news under wraps.
After Hunt composed himself, he said: “It was going to come out anyway. Hlanti is going to be out for some time. He came back from the national team with a major, major injury.
“I’m very disappointed. The diagnosis revealed that he’ll be out for a long time. I don’t know the severity of the injury, but he’ll be out for some time,” he said.
Since the Durban-born defender made his international debut against Cameroon in 2016, Hlanti has been an integral part of the Bafana set up. He played in all five matches at the Afcon tournament.
He also played a crucial role in Bafana’s makeshift defence in the 3-5-2 formation when Stuart Baxter’s troops beat Libya to book their place in this year’s Afcon qualifiers in Tunisia in March. Hlanti’s place at Wits will be taken by Lehlohonolo Nonyane and Keagan Richie, while Orlando Pirates defender Innocent Maela is set to assume the role at Bafana.
On Friday, Hunt also unveiled new Wits signings Siyanda Zwane, Brandon Petersen, Carl Lark, Joseph Douhadji, Phathutshedzo Nange, Kenneth Sebastian, Sameehg Doutie, Prince Nxumalo, Zitha Macheke and Ivan Mahangwahaya.
