Injury blow for Banyana

Johannesburg - The South African women's national team, Banyana Banyana, will be without the services of captain Janine van Wyk for their international friendly match against Zimbabwe at Dobsonville Stadium on Saturday.

Van Wyk will miss out due to a knee injury, but the player believes the team has what it takes to challenge the Zimbabweans in the build-up to the African Women’s Championship (AWC) qualifiers.

"This is exciting, as it is our first official game this year and everyone is looking forward to this game," said Van Wyk.

"We have learnt new things with the coach over the past few weeks we've been together.

"This game is a means of gauging how far we are as a team and how much work still needs to be done in preparation for the AWC qualifiers."

The Banyana captain said she was disappointed not to be part of the match against Zimbabwe but also cautioned against complacency.

"It's disappointing not to be training fully with the squad but everyone has been working hard and we will be looking for a win against Zimbabwe on Saturday."

The ninth edition of the Caf African Women's Championship will be held in Namibia in October.

The three top finishers will go on to represent the continent at the Fifa Women's Cup Canada 2015.