Bafana Bafana and Al-Ettifaq FC winger Mohau Nkota has been hit by a devastating injury setback just two weeks before the kickoff of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Nkota’s agency, P Management, confirmed the injury on Friday via an Instagram post. This development likely explains why the left-footed attacker was omitted from the Bafana Bafana preliminary squad—a decision that initially came as a massive shock at the time of the announcement.
The agency posted: “Mohau Nkota sustained an injury during training on the 11th of May 2026. Get well soon.”
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On Thursday evening, Broos announced his 32-man squad, and Nkota was a notable absentee, having been a regular part of the setup in recent months. The pacy winger was part of the Bafana Bafana squad that participated in the recent AFCON in Morocco, where South Africa fell short in the Round of 16 following a 2-1 defeat to Cameroon in Rabat.
Nkota also missed the previous Bafana camp—when the team played back-to-back friendlies against Panama—due to the passing of a family member.
MOHAU NKOTA TO MISS WORLD CUP SQUAD DUE TO INJURY
The young attacker became a regular fixture in the Bafana Bafana setup following his high-profile move from Orlando Pirates to Al-Ettifaq in July 2025. During his debut campaign in Saudi Arabia, Nkota made 22 appearances across all competitions, netting two goals and providing three assists.
Nkota earned his move to the Gulf after spending just one breakout season with the Pirates senior team, having been promoted from the club’s DStv Diski Challenge side at the start of the 2024/25 campaign. In his solitary senior season with the Sea Robbers, the 21-year-old was a standout performer, scoring seven goals and chipping in with five assists across 39 matches.
With the 2025/26 Saudi Pro League season now wrapped up, Nkota will look to utilise the off-season to rehab his injury and regain full fitness ahead of pre-season training. And the post by P Management effectively put to bed the intense speculation surrounding the Northern Cape-born star’s exclusion from Broos’ latest squad.
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