'We don't need help, can look after Benni'

The wrangle over Benni McCarthy's fitness looks set to drag on, with the striker's coach at Orlando Pirates, Roger de Sa, unsettled by suggestions that only the Bafana technical team can get him back into shape.

Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund said last week he was willing to go the extra mile to ensure McCarthy, who is recovering from a hamstring injury, is fit and ready for the Africa Cup of Nations in January.

Igesund - whose side will take on Cape Verde, Morocco and Angola in Group A of the tournament - said he was giving McCarthy eight weeks to be available for selection. The coach is keen to have the Pirates marksman, who has 80 Bafana appearances, as his target man for the tournament, to be held in South Africa.

Igesund vowed he would "take [McCarthy] to the Sports Science Institute, work with Pirates and get him to that level where he can make it".

But De Sa said at the weekend he had not heard from anyone at Safa regarding McCarthy, who suffered the injury while playing for Bafana against Brazil last month.

"My concern is not Afcon. Benni has been injured for six weeks since I have been at the club. I've never received a phone call from anyone at Safa asking me how he is," De Sa said.

"We are trying to get him right; we work with him every day. And we are working on him so he can play for Pirates. Afcon is the last thing on my mind. We want him scoring goals for us, and if he is good enough, I'm sure he will get another [Bafana] call-up."

De Sa warned that McCarthy's injury should be approached sensitively instead of rushing the striker, who is Bafana's all-time record goalscorer.

"We've got to be careful because a hamstring injury at that age 35 next month] is a very sensitive injury. It's quite a bad tear and we did some tests that show quite a bit of healing is needed," De Sa said.

Although the coach would like to speed up the forward's recovery, McCarthy will battle to regain his match fitness. He has featured in only three games, two in the Absa Premiership and one in the cup, so far this season, having last played for Pirates on August 25, and has yet to score.

"If he has another rupture, we set him back for another seven or eight weeks," De Sa said. "Rather extend his recovery. So I reckon he is about two weeks from being available for selection for Pirates."