South Africa’s Bafana Bafana have suffered a major setback after key player Relebohile Mofokeng was ruled out of Friday’s Group C 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier with Zimbabwe due to injury.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, South Africa head coach Hugo Broos confirmed that Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Mduduzi Shabalala has been called up as Mofokeng’s replacement.

“We replaced him with Shabalala. Second, there are two players who have not arrived because they played on Sunday , that’s (Lyle) Foster and (Sphephelo) Sithole.

“They will arrive on Tuesday morning, and in the afternoon, we will be complete,” Broos said (newzimbabwe.com).

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe held its first training session in Durban on Monday afternoon ahead of Friday’s qualifier against Bafana Bafana at Moses Mabhida Stadium.

The session included both locally based and South Africa-based players, who make up the majority of the squad.

Team captain Marvellous Nakamba, who plies his trade in England, joined camp on Monday evening, while other European-based players are expected to arrive on Tuesday morning.

The clash carries more than just qualification hopes; national pride and regional bragging rights are also at stake in this long-standing rivalry.

Zimbabwe, who sit bottom of Group C with four points, are already out of contention for World Cup qualification.

The 1996 AFCON title winners remain in the race for qualification and are second with 14 points.