Report: Bongani Zungu set for Rangers absence amid South Africa quarantine decision
Bongani Zungu will link up with the South Africa national team for their clash with Sudan on Sunday in a decision that will likely rule him out of Rangers’ next game.
The 28-year-old has been far from a Gers first-team fixture this season but he would have been a nigh-on certainty to start their Scottish Cup clash with lower-league Cove Rangers on April 3.
But that now looks unlikely due to current restrictions as a result of the ongoing covid-19 pandemic.
According to South African outlet Times Live Zungu will miss Bafana Bafana’s clash with Ghana on Thursday but he will join his national side in time for their Sudan fixture on Sunday.
They spoke to national team doctor Thulani Ngwenya who said Rangers initially refused to grant Zungu permission to travel because there was no way of arranging a flight via a connection that was not a covid hotspot.
However, the Light Blues and Zungu have now agreed for Zungu to quarantine for 10-14 days on his return to Scotland which would rule him out of the Cove Rangers clash.
Writing on the wall
This is a decision that will have a far greater impact on Zungu than Rangers.
Steven Gerrard’s side should make light work of League One Cove Rangers and thus Zungu will be no big loss.
With Ryan Jack and Scott Arfield on the mend as well as midfield mainstays Steven Davis, Glen Kamara and Joe Aribo in the squad we should have more than enough to comfortably dispatch the third-tier side.
But this could be the final nail in Zungu’s Gers coffin.
He is only on loan from French club Amiens though there is an option for his permanent capture.
However, with just one Premiership start under his belt this season and his involvement in the ‘Rangers Five’ controversy he Zungu looks set to return to his parent club.
A strong showing against Cove Rangers may have earned him a spot in the starting XI for the remainder of the Premiership season and who knows, maybe Gerrard might have had a more difficult decision to reach.
But with Zungu set for nearly two weeks in isolation we think he will find it difficult to force his way into the side and if he does he might be rather rusty.
In other Rangers news, 24y/o Gers ace could seal £20m move away in the summer.