Nkota Breaks Silence After Injury Blow & Bafana Snub

Al-Ettifaq winger Mohau Nkota breaks his silence on his latest injury setback and his World Cup selection heartbreak.

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Mohau Nkota has broken his silence following a difficult few weeks that have seen the young winger sidelined through injury and overlooked for Bafana Bafana's preliminary FIFA World Cup squad.

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos once again made headlines for his selection calls after naming his provisional 32-man squad, with Nkota emerging as one of the most notable absentees.

The omission came as a surprise to many supporters, given the winger's meteoric rise over the last year. Nkota enjoyed a breakout 2024/25 campaign that quickly elevated him into the national spotlight before earning a high-profile move to Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia.

At the start of the season, the 21-year-old looked poised to become one of the new faces of Bafana Bafana, impressing with energetic performances for both club and country. However, his momentum appears to have slowed in recent months as he struggled to cement a consistent role in Saudi Arabia.

Nkota finished his debut Saudi Pro League campaign with 21 appearances and five goal contributions for Al-Ettifaq, but his reduced involvement over the last month has now seemingly been explained.

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Taking to Instagram this week, the winger revealed that he is currently nursing a knee injury. Nkota shared an image showing his left knee strapped in a brace alongside a short but emotional message: "Better days are on the way, just wait."

Nkota also appeared to subtly react to the squad snub by reposting an older image shared by a friend, showing him proudly representing South Africa during last year's qualifiers — a reminder of how quickly his international fortunes have shifted.