Bafana Bafana defender hands Kaizer Chiefs blow as Venezuela's Edson Castillo becomes risky case for Nasreddine Nabi's side after facing Lionel Messi's Argentina

Kaizer Chiefs had four players Edson Castillo, Rushwin Dortley, Thatayaone Ditlhokwe and goalkeeper Faicre on international duty with their respective countries during the just-ended Fifa period.

But Castillo who came on as a late substitute for Venezuela in the home 1-1 Fifa World Cup qualifier draw with Lionel Messi's Argentina only arrived back at Naturena on Thursday.

He might not be fit to start in the Carling Knockout Last-16 tie against SuperSport United at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday.

Bafana centre-back Dortley also got injured against Congo-Brazzaville on Tuesday and is likely to miss Saturday's match.

“It is always interesting to see a good number of players in your team being part of the national teams,” Nabi told the media.

“It is an honour for us and I’m also sure there are other players in our team who will have the opportunity to represent the national team. 

“But, having a game that is so close might be a little challenge for us because you don’t have enough time to give the players to recover and technically prepare for the upcoming game," the Tunisian added.

“For instance, we have a player like Castillo who is only arriving today [Thursday] at 3pm, so we don’t know if he is going to have enough time to recover. 

“Another example is Dortley, I heard he has an injury. So, all these issues we have to try and work around them and see how we can include them in the team and prepare for the game.”

If Castillo is not available to play on Saturday, Nabi might not be too worried as the Venezuelan has started just one of Chiefs three Premier Soccer League matches this season.

The Amakhosi coach has Yusuf Maart, Samkelo Zwane, Njabulo Blom and Sibongiseni Mathethwa as the other options in central midfield.

Dortley's injury might also not be a big concern as Ditlhokwe, Inacio Miguel, Given Msimango and Zitha Kwinika are available for selection.

The Soweto giants are finalising their preparations for the SuperSport match as they bid to end a nine-year trophy drought.

This will be Nabi's first-ever major cup game as Amakhosi coach.