Sphephelo Sithole’s Recovery Focuses on Pre-Season Fitness After Injury-Plagued Season

Bafana Bafana midfielder Sphephelo Sithole is back to full fitness after a long spell on the sidelines, having missed the majority of the 2024/25 season due to a serious injury. His last competitive match was in October 2024, when he suffered a broken leg during South Africa’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against South Sudan, a match Bafana won 3-2 away.

Sithole’s injury was a devastating blow for both him and his club at the time. The 26-year-old had just secured a loan move to Primeira Liga side Gil Vicente, but his injury meant he was unable to feature for the Portuguese outfit. He made only two appearances before being sidelined, and Vicente struggled without him, narrowly avoiding relegation by finishing 14th in the league, six points clear of the drop zone.

Despite the challenging season, Sithole’s agent, Manuel Tomas, confirmed to KickOff.com that the Bafana star has now fully recovered and is back to training. “Everything is good now, he’s training 100%, but we lost this season with the injury,” said Tomas, reflecting on the setback.

With Sithole back on the training field, his immediate focus is to rebuild his fitness ahead of the pre-season. Tomas revealed that the midfielder is aiming to regain full match sharpness ahead of his return to competitive action. “The focus is to get fit for pre-season,” he added.

Looking ahead, Sithole is hoping to rejoin the Bafana Bafana squad for the resumption of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign in September. Bafana will travel to Lesotho for their opening match of the month before hosting Nigeria a week later. Tomas shared that Sithole has continued to receive support from the national team throughout his recovery, with players and staff offering encouragement and understanding.

“People in the national team support ‘Yaya’. They know what happened and they supported him during the season. They spoke with him every time, wonderful,” Tomas said, highlighting the strong bond within the team.

In Sithole’s absence, Bafana Bafana has relied on midfielders Jayden Adams and Bathusi Aubaas to fill the void. Both players have alternated in partnering Mamelodi Sundowns’ Teboho Mokoena in midfield, as Hugo Broos’ charges maintain a five-point lead at the top of Group C in the World Cup qualifiers.

However, there is still some uncertainty hanging over the team as a pending ineligibility case with FIFA regarding Teboho Mokoena’s involvement in a 2-0 win over Lesotho in March could impact Bafana’s campaign.

As for Sithole, with his injury woes behind him, his immediate focus remains on regaining his peak physical condition, with the hope of being part of Bafana’s crucial World Cup qualifiers in the coming months. The recovery process has been long, but the midfielder is now determined to make his mark again at both club and international levels.