Saleng leaves Bafana Bafana camp for return to Orlando Pirates

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Monnapule Saleng has left the Bafana Bafanacamp to return to Orlando Pirates ahead of this weekend’s Nedbank Cup quarterfinals.

The Buccaneers visit SuperSport United in the Nedbank Cup quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon.

Kick-off at Lucas Moripe Stadium is at 15:00.

Now, Saleng had been with Bafana Bafana since last week in preparation for the two-legged CHAN qualifier against Egypt.

He featured in the first leg which was played in Bloemfontein last weekend, and expectations were that he would play in the return leg this coming weekend.

However, he has withdrawn from the squad, meaning he will NOT be traveling to Cairo with Bafana Bafana.

The news of Saleng’s withdrawal from the Bafana Bafana squad comes just a day after his two-year option in his Pirates contract was triggered.

He is not the only Pirates player that has withdrawn from the Bafana Bafana squad. The other one is Azola Tshobeni.

Meanwhile, Kaizer Chiefs striker Naledi Hlongwane and Golden Arrows’ Nduduzo Mhlongo will also not travel with the squad.

In curbing the situation, Bafana Bafana coach Molefi Ntseki called up three replacements for the withdrawn quartet.

And replacements are Victor Letsoalo from TS Galaxy, and Mondli Mpoto and Levy Mashiane from Royal AM.

Ntseki told the South African Football Association (SAFA) media team that the players he has will give Bafana Bafana a very good balance.

Monnapule Saleng playing for Orlando Pirates at the Orlando Stadium. Image: @officialpsl/X

SALENG LEAVES BAFANA BAFANA, RETURNS TO ORLANDO PIRATES

“So, what we did when we got to camp, we did a squad profile to see who is playing and who is better in which positions in terms of our approach. With us doing that, we also worked on the structure,” said Ntseki.

“We realized that after the game in Bloemfontein, there are certain positions that we needed to reinforce, especially with us having to go and play Egypt in Egypt.

“So, we have released a few of our players that came to camp last week. We have brought in a few of the players in terms of the squad balance. We had to thank them by releasing these players back to their clubs.”

“The players that are here will give us a very good balance, so we are looking forward to giving other players a chance like those that were given a chance against Egypt in the first leg. They did well and we are very positive with what we have in camp going into Egypt. We know they will be giving their best and the best for their country.”