Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has named a 48-man preliminary squad for next month’s FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, including the injured Themba Zwane.

Bafana Bafana will battle neighbours Lesotho ‘away’ at the Free State Stadium on 5 September, before hosting Nigeria at the same venue four days later.

African Times reported earlier on Thursday that Zwane, 36, is out for approximately two months due to a thigh injury.

Zwane, however, still features in the team and would most likely be excluded when the final team is announced sometime next week.

Bafana Bafana tops Group C with 13 points from six matches and is five points ahead of second-placed Rwanda.

With the 1996 African champions in the driving seat, two wins could be enough to see Bafana Bafana qualify for the global showpiece and the next matches against Lesotho and Nigeria would be crucial.