Broos pleas with Sundowns to take care of Bafana star for Mzansi’s sake – He will be key for Afcon & World Cup

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has earmarked Mamelodi Sundowns captain Themba Zwane for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and potential 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The 36-year-old has been a key player for the national team despite his advancing age; however, he has not played for South Africa since October 2024 when he was injured away against Congo in the 2025 AFCON qualifier.

Zwane made a return to action late last season, but recently, he was ruled out for two months after sustaining an injury on club duty. It means, the versatile attacker will miss the forthcoming matchdays seven and eight of the FIFA World qualifiers against Lesotho and Nigeria, respectively, and potentially the October ones.

Broos believes Zwane will be needed in the forthcoming competitions, explaining his request to Masandawana.

Sundowns have to be careful

“You know this is not a surprise for me, at that age, with that injury he had, I was afraid it was the end of the career of Themba; it was not a little muscle injury, it was his Achilles, he worked very hard, and I think now he’s paying the bill a bit,” he told the media.

“Before, Themba was never injured, it’s a bit ‘normal’ what’s happening to him – I think he’s fully recovered, but in the future, Sundowns has to be careful with him, at that age, after such an injury – you can’t ask a player to play every game.

“Certainly, taking into account his age, so they have to be careful with him in the future, otherwise I’m afraid Themba will go from one injury to another, and I count on him – I hope he will be good and that we can count on him in the next months, for AFCON and even for the World Cup,” Broos concluded.

Zwane has featured for Bafana Bafana 51 times with a return of 12 goals and three assists.