Amajita captain and Sundowns defender Asekho Tiwani has been ruled out of the AFCON U-20 competition due to a knee injury.
Tiwani suffered the injury setback in Amajita’s game against Egypt. The former Sekhukhune United defender is expected to be out for more than three weeks.
Chiefs forward Naledi Hlongwane has been released from the squad due to registration issues for the tournament, as first reported by SABC Sport. Tiwani and Hlongwane returned to South Africa last night, Tuesday.
“With the captain, it might not be so bad, but it’s something that cannot heal now, that’s the challenge, so we had to release him,” confirmed Mdaka as quoted by the SABC Sport.
“It’s something that might take more than three weeks, we’re not sure, but from the doctor’s side, it’s something that he can’t immediately play now.
“It’s the biggest blow because we had him and Mbekezeli [Mbokazi], and I would know that I’m rock solid at the back, but we can’t cry, it’s a situation that happens in football, and we’ll see how we go forward without them.”
The Raymond Mdaka-coached side is drawn in Group A alongside the host nation, Egypt, Sierra Leone, Zambia and Tanzania. They lost 1-0 to Egypt at Cairo International Stadium in their opening game of the tournament this past Sunday.
The side will play their second match today [Wednesday] against Tanzania at Suez Canal Stadium, with the kick-off set for 17:00 [SA time].
Currently, Amajita are placed at the bottom of the group without a point from one game.
In a development that will undoubtedly impact their AFCON campaign, the SA Under-20 team has lost the services of players from Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs, who have been released from the national squad.
The SA U-20 is currently in Egypt for the CAF 2025 AFCON U-20 tournament, which commenced on Sunday, 27 April.