South Africa captain Thulani Hlatshwayo is in a race against time to be fit for the back-to-back 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Sao Tome e Principe at the end of March.
Hlatshwayo has missed Bidvest Wits’ last two Premier Soccer League (PSL) games due to a head injury sustained against SuperSport United last month.
While following strict concussion procedures, Wits doctor Peter Baxter said it is possible, but not certain, for the Bafana skipper to return to action this month ahead of the fixtures against Sao Tome.
“My approach with him is extremely conservative and‚ after the knocks he has suffered over the last two years‚ his return to play has been much later than it normally would have been,” Baxter told Times Live.
“Normally a player could be back after two and a half weeks but [after his last concussion] he came back much later than that because of previous injuries. It was to make sure he was more than ready to come back when he did come back.
“We don’t just let him go play again once the headache is gone.”
Hlatshwayo will be further examined on Thursday.
“He is way ahead at this time post-injury than he has been in the previous injuries,” Baxter continued.
“We’ve got all the data to go back and compare with and check against. He will see his neuro-physio on Thursday and I will assess him again after that.”
Baxter also confirmed Wits are in touch with national team doctor Thulani Ngwenya.
