Bafana Bafana's overseas-based contingent are expected to arrive late for Shakes Mashaba's preliminary African Cup of Nations camp, due to the players' club commitments.
Read More: Mashaba Announces Prelim Squad
Only seven players plying their trade outside of South Africa have been selected in Mashaba's 34-man provisional squad for the AFCON, however six of them featured during Bafana's qualifying campaign, indicating that they will make the cut when Mashaba trims his squad down to his final 23.
Bafana will go into camp from December 26th to December 30th, after which Mashaba will select his final squad, though he may not get chance to look at the bulk of his foreign-based players for very long.
Darren Keet, Anele Ngcongca, Andile Jali, Dean Furman, Ayanda Patosi and Tokelo Rantie, who ply their trade in Belgium and England, all have games on the weekend of the 26th, games that their club will want them to be available for.
Keet's Kortrijk take on Gent on the 26th, while Jali and Ngcongca will lock horns on the 27th as Genk host Oostende. Meanwhile, Patosi's Lokeren have a big game against Standard Liege on the same day.
Furman's Doncaster Rovers play Coventy City on the 26th, Peterborough United on the 28th and then Bristol City on the 3rd of January.
One player, however, that should be available will be Thulani Serero of Ajax Amsterdam, with his team set to play their last game of 2014 this Sunday.
It remains to be seen when the European clubs will release their other players for Bafana duty, especially given the fact that they are only obliged by FIFA to release them two weeks before the start of the tournament on January 17th.
There is no Christmas break in England, meaning that Furman's Rovers and Tokelo Rantie's Bournemouth have games throughout the festive period.
While Rantie is recovering from injury and may be allowed to attend the Bafana camp early, Rovers may not be as lenient with Furman as they try to manoeuvre through their hectic Christmas schedule.
