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Johannesburg - Bafana Bafana captain Steven Pienaar is on the plane with the team heading Cairo for Sunday's crucial Africa Cup of Nations qualifying clash against Egypt.
The match will be played at the Military Academy Stadium, and kicks off at 8:30pm.
Earlier, Pienaar had limped off at the squad's final training session after injuring his knee following a collision with defender Happy Jele. The midfielder was assessed at the team's hotel and will be further assessed during the team's stay in Cairo.
Asked about how he felt about his star player's injury scare, head coach Pitso Mosimane looked worried.
"He's struggling. You all saw Steven went into a 50/50 challenge with Happy Jele. We have two days before the match so let's see. These things happen, you get injured at training because this is a professional sport. I will wait until the last moment to take the decision, even if it is on the day of the match. I'm just going to try and not to be emotional about it.
"It wouldn't be nice obviously if Pienaar is ruled out but my experience tells me things like this happen sometimes. We have 23 players in the squad and if he can't be there then what can you do? It's not nice but it's okay. We have several players who aren't here already and we have to deal with that," said Mosimane.
The coach also revealed that should Pienaar fail to recover on time for Sunday's match, vice captain Siphiwe Tshabalala will take over the armband - a fitting tribute to the player who made his national debut five years in Cairo against Egypt.
Tshabalala missed out on an opportunity to captain Bafana Bafana in the friendly international match against Tanzania last month after his team withdrew him from the squad along with two other Kaizer Chiefs players, Itumeleng Khune and Reneilwe Letsholonyane.
Meanwhile, Bafana Bafana's players are optimistic that they have what it takes to take on Egypt in their backyard. Speaking before the team's departure, defender Anele Ngcongca said their objective was to return with three points.
"We have been working on our tactics at training and are well prepared for the big clash with Egypt. Their pace at the back is very slow while we have quick forwards so we need to exploit that. As a player you always want to win so we cannot afford to defend and hope for victory, we need to go all out get it. We are not focussing on their history against us because they are also human and can make mistakes,” said Ngcongca who won the league title with his Belgian club RC Genk.
Mosimane added that preparations went very well in the last ten days in camp.
"We have covered a lot of ground and can't be stressing about tactics now. The players understand what needs to be done as we have prepared very well.
"It's going to be a very tactical match that will require a lot of brains, but we will also need a bit luck which obviously comes with a lot of effort. My players now need to show that they can win away in a very competitive match like against Egypt. The side that makes less mistakes, especially at crucial times, will get the business done."
The match will be played at the Military Academy Stadium, and kicks off at 8:30pm.
Earlier, Pienaar had limped off at the squad's final training session after injuring his knee following a collision with defender Happy Jele. The midfielder was assessed at the team's hotel and will be further assessed during the team's stay in Cairo.
Asked about how he felt about his star player's injury scare, head coach Pitso Mosimane looked worried.
"He's struggling. You all saw Steven went into a 50/50 challenge with Happy Jele. We have two days before the match so let's see. These things happen, you get injured at training because this is a professional sport. I will wait until the last moment to take the decision, even if it is on the day of the match. I'm just going to try and not to be emotional about it.
"It wouldn't be nice obviously if Pienaar is ruled out but my experience tells me things like this happen sometimes. We have 23 players in the squad and if he can't be there then what can you do? It's not nice but it's okay. We have several players who aren't here already and we have to deal with that," said Mosimane.
The coach also revealed that should Pienaar fail to recover on time for Sunday's match, vice captain Siphiwe Tshabalala will take over the armband - a fitting tribute to the player who made his national debut five years in Cairo against Egypt.
Tshabalala missed out on an opportunity to captain Bafana Bafana in the friendly international match against Tanzania last month after his team withdrew him from the squad along with two other Kaizer Chiefs players, Itumeleng Khune and Reneilwe Letsholonyane.
Meanwhile, Bafana Bafana's players are optimistic that they have what it takes to take on Egypt in their backyard. Speaking before the team's departure, defender Anele Ngcongca said their objective was to return with three points.
"We have been working on our tactics at training and are well prepared for the big clash with Egypt. Their pace at the back is very slow while we have quick forwards so we need to exploit that. As a player you always want to win so we cannot afford to defend and hope for victory, we need to go all out get it. We are not focussing on their history against us because they are also human and can make mistakes,” said Ngcongca who won the league title with his Belgian club RC Genk.
Mosimane added that preparations went very well in the last ten days in camp.
"We have covered a lot of ground and can't be stressing about tactics now. The players understand what needs to be done as we have prepared very well.
"It's going to be a very tactical match that will require a lot of brains, but we will also need a bit luck which obviously comes with a lot of effort. My players now need to show that they can win away in a very competitive match like against Egypt. The side that makes less mistakes, especially at crucial times, will get the business done."
