MLS outfit St Louis City have shed light on the situation around Njabulo Blom ahead of Bafana Bafana’s camp next week.
Bafana coach Hugo Broos included the St Louis midfielder in his final 23-man squad this week.
This was even though the former Kaizer Chiefs star missed the 2-1 victory for his new MLS side against Portland.
When announcing his final squad, the Belgian mentor said SAFA knew their rights and would drag the club to FIFA should they not release the player.
HUGO BROOS’ THREAT
Broos told journalists that SAFA had contacted the club after seeing Blom had been omitted from the weekend squad. They were told the player was sick.
The Bafana coach contacted the player, who indicated he was “not feeling good”.
A follow-up email was sent to St Louis before finalising the squad, but almost a day later, there was no response.
A fixture list showing St Louis is playing on 26 March, right in the middle of an international break, raised Broos’ eyebrows.
“But I saw that in America next week, there’s a league game. On the 26th, they are playing… Now, I’m afraid that they are trying to keep Njabulo there. And that will not happen. We know the rules, so when he doesn’t come without a valid reason, then we will have to go to FIFA.”
WHAT’S THE LATEST ON BLOM?
The MLS newcomers spoke to iDiski Times in response to Broos’ threat. The club revealed that the Bafana star had ‘been in bed over the past few days’.
Apparently, Blom, who reportedly has Covid, has been unable to train and is certainly ‘not in the right condition to travel 15+ hours’.
“This is exactly what we told SAFA. They cannot expect us to put him on a plane when he hasn’t even come out of bed because there is a risk he might infect others,” the publication quoted City’s Sporting Director Lutz Pfannenstiel.
Since his switch in December, Blom has featured in two games. His display off the bench against Austin FC earned him his first start on match-day two against Charlotte FC.
Indications are that Blom will also miss the club’s weekend clash against the SJ Earthquakes on Sunday, 19 March 2023.
“Blom is out after entering the league’s health and safety protocols. This also puts his availability for the March 19 game against San Jose in jeopardy,” wrote FOX Sports.
This would effectively rule him out of Bafana’s squad that will play Liberia in a two-legged AFCON qualifier. They host the Lone Stars at Orlando Stadium [24 March] before visiting them in Monrovia [28 March].
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