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Cape Town - Bafana Bafana had a full complement of players on Tuesday with the arrival of the overseas-based trio Thulani Serero (Holland), Dino Ndlovu (Azerbaijan) and Lebogang Manyama (Turkey).
Serero, who landed in South Africa on Monday night, was able to attend his first training session with the squad on Tuesday morning, while Manyama and Ndlovu joined their compatriots at the second training session in the afternoon.
Bafana Bafana are in camp to face Burkina Faso in a 2018 Soccer World Cup qualifier on Saturday, October 7 at FNB Stadium.
Goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune will captain the squad in place of the injured Thulani Hlatshwayo, whose place has been taken by Robyn Johannes of Cape Town City.
Khune has been struggling with a shoulder injury himself, sustained at his club, but he is confident he will be ready for the Burkinabe.
"I will be fine for the match, it’s a very important game for all of us and we need all the players fit to go compete and make the country proud," said Khune after their training session as quoted by the official SAFA website.
"I am struggling with my shoulder, but the medical teams from my club and Bafana Bafana are taking good care of it and I am feeling much better."
Bafana Bafana are bottom of Group D in the qualifiers with just one point after three games.
They face a Burkina Faso side that is top of the table with six points. The two nations met last year in a match that finished in a 1-1 stalemate.
South Africa went on to defeat Senegal, but FIFA ordered the match to be replayed after they found the match referee guilty of influencing the outcome.
What followed for Bafana Bafana were back-to-back defeats against Cape Verde, results which left coach Stuart Baxter’s charges in trouble with just three games remaining.
But Khune says they have to stay positive.
"What’s important is for us to apply a positive mind to the game, and it’s up to us to get a good result on Saturday so that we can get the full support of the country," Khune said.
"When the results are not coming I don’t blame them (the public) for hammering us, we have to deliver.
"With the crop of players that we have, we are talented and sometimes we don’t realise it, so it’s important that we realise how talented we are and we need to move the country forward with some positive results."
