Bafana midfielder set for another spell on the sidelines in the MLS
A Bafana Bafana midfielder is bracing himself for yet another spell on the sidelines in the MLS after suffering a fresh injury blow.
Former Kaizer Chiefs midfield grafter Njabulo Blom just can’t seem to catch a break out in the United States of America, suffering one setback after another.
He arrived in the country to join his new squad late due to issues with his paperwork, and as a result, he missed the start of the MLS campaign.
And just when his coach Bradley Carnell started to ease him into the team a few weeks ago, Blom contracted Covid-19 and was forced to miss two weeks of action.
That also saw the former South Africa U-20 star forced to withdraw from coach Hugo Broos’ Bafana squad that was preparing to face Liberia in back-to-back AFCON qualifiers.
Once again the Chiefs academy graduate recovered from that setback and made a comeback as a substitute in two consecutive matches.
But as he was beginning to regain full fitness, another blow came in his side’s 3-0 loss at the hands of Seattle Saunders this past weekend.
Blom was a second half substitute in the match but could only play 14 minutes before suffering a groin injury that saw him replaced by Celio Pompeu.
NJABULO BLOM SET FOR SPELL ON SIDELINES
He is now set to miss up to six weeks of action with his coach Carnell describing it as “a real bummer” that they have to do without the midfielder again.
“We tried to progress him minutes-wise,” Carnell told St Louis Post-Dispatch.
“We were getting pressure from the South African market: Why don’t we see Blom anymore? Blom had an illness, so we had to try to get him back and it’s not so easy to recover from those moments.
“We knew we could progress maybe 30 minutes with him, which was the plan, and unfortunately a few minutes later, the plan is derailed and had ramifications on how that game played out.”
CAPABLE REPLACEMENTS FOR INJURED NJABULO BLOM
Carnell is confident, though, that he has enough quality within his team to continue to do well even without the service of his compatriot.
His side have already shown at the beginning of the season that they have players who are equally capable and can comfortably fill Blom’s shoes.
“There’s Aziel Jackson, there’s Akil Watts in that position,” added Carnell.
“We don’t even have to improvise. I think those guys can add contribution and value. We feel we’re pretty deep in there, which is fine. I think we’ll be alright.”
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