Pienaar to miss South Africa qualifer

Tottenham midfielder Steven Pienaar will miss South Africa’s African Cup of Nations qualifier against Sierra Leone on Saturday.

The midfielder is yet to feature the North Londoners this season, but he seems to be close to a return to the pitch after making the bench against Shamrock Rovers in the Europa League last Thursday.

Pienaar had been named in a standby capacity for the all-important clash against the Leone Stars on Saturday in Nelspruit, but will now certainly miss the match.

Bafana must win and hope Niger falter in Egypt, for South Africa to qualify for the tournament in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, and coach Pitso Mosimane reveals he has decided Pienaar is surplus to requirements.

“This was a joint decision between us and his club that we don’t include him at this stage as he is still on the edge (after recovering from a groin injury),” Mosimane said.

“We rather let him recuperate well and have him later on in other matches than bring him out here and then he breaks down again.”

Otherwise, a clean bill of health has been reported in the South Africa camp.