Bafana midfielders Dolly and Zungu prove fitness ahead of crucial Afcon qualifier against Libya

18 March 2019 - 10:55 By Nick Said
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Bafana Bafana head coach Stuart Baxter in a discussion with France-based midfielder Bongani Zungu during a training session at FNB Stadium.
Bafana Bafana head coach Stuart Baxter in a discussion with France-based midfielder Bongani Zungu during a training session at FNB Stadium.
Image: Sydney Mahlangu /BackpagePix

Star midfielders Keagan Dolly and Bongani Zungu took another step towards proving their fitness for Bafana Bafana when they turned out for the reserve sides of their respective French Ligue 1 sides at the weekend.

Eyebrows were raised when the pair were included in Stuart Baxter’s Bafana squad‚ subject to medical assessments‚ for the crucial 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier against Libya on Sunday.

Bafana must avoid defeat in Sfax in Tunisia to qualify for the finals later in the year.

Zungu has not kicked a ball in Ligue 1 for Amiens since September 2 when he suffered a serious knee injury‚ while Dolly has played only 15 minutes of competitive football in the last six months after fracturing his leg while playing for Montpellier.

But both have been steadily working their way back to full match fitness and will at least report for duty in Tunisia with some game time under their belt.

Dolly played the full game for Montpellier on Saturday in the reserve league‚ adding to two other appearances in previous weeks‚ showing no adverse reaction to his injury.

Zungu played 83 minutes for Amiens at the weekend‚ also a third appearance for the reserve side in recent weeks.

That will be encouraging for Baxter‚ though how match sharp they are for a fixture against Libya that could be decided by fine margins will be a worry.

Meanwhile‚ Lebo Mothiba netted a fine goal for Strasbourg‚ his 10th of the season‚ to break his recent drought that had stretched back to January.

Kamohelo Mokotjo played for Brentford as they lost 1-0 at West Brom in the English Championship‚ while Thulani Serero was back in the Vitesse starting line-up in the Dutch top flight as they went down 3-2 to Heracles.

Percy Tau will have been inactive for three weeks by the time the Libya clash comes along as he waits for the post-season play-offs to start in Belgium.

And Lars Veldwijk was surprisingly dropped to the bench at Sparta Rotterdam in the Dutch second-tier‚ but came on to provide an assist as his side won 3-1 to keep their promotion push on course.

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