Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos says leaving Thapelo Morena out of the World Cup final squad was a tough decision. Broos announced the 26-player squad on Wednesday. Morena was one of the six players named in the preliminary squad last week who did not make the final squad. Others who did not make the cut are Brandon Petersen, Thabiso Monyane, Lebohang Maboe (all Kaizer Chiefs), Brooklyn Poggenpoel of Maritzburg United and Patrick Maswanganyi of Orlando Pirates. Addressing a media conference on Thursday ahead of Bafana’s send-off World Cup warm-up match against Nicaragua at Orlando Stadium on Friday (6pm), Broos said Bafana’s medical team advised the coaching staff Morena would not be ready for the opening match.South Africa meet co-hosts Mexico in the opening game of the tournament at the Azteca in Mexico City on June 11. “We took the decision yesterday [Wednesday] at 4pm. We knew Thapelo was injured but we didn’t know everything to decide early that he won’t go with us to Mexico,” the coach said. “That’s why we had another scan on Wednesday afternoon and we had to wait for the results. It was a bit stressful for the medical team in the afternoon because we wanted to take a decision.”Morena, who has struggled with injuries over the past few months, last played during the 1-1 Premiership draw between Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs on May 6.He has been replaced in the squad by Kamogelo Sebelebele. Among the senior players in the team, Morena was a key figure as Bafana attained their best finish in 24 years of third place at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Ivory Coast in 2024. The utility player was trusted by Broos for his quality, reliability and versatility.The right-back or winger missed the next Afcon in Morocco in January and February, where SA exited in the last 16. “At around 4pm, [team doctor] Thulani Ngwenya came to my room and with [Bafana assistant coach] Helman Mkhalele and the physical coach he gave us the medical report. We didn’t see the opportunity to take Thapelo with us. “In the next two weeks, he will not be able to train with the team, and if you consider that, it was not a good idea to take him to the World Cup. Also it will not be fair to other players. “Having him would mean dropping someone else. This is what made us decide not to take him with us. I spoke to him after we came from the presidential guest house. “It was an emotional moment for me because I know he is someone who can change the game. He has done it in the past for us where he was an important player, not only when he started the game, but when he came off the bench.”It was the biggest challenge in the history of my medical career in sports medicine— Safa chief medical officer Dr Thulani Ngwenya South African Football Association (Safa) chief medical officer Ngwenya said they did everything medically possible to get Morena ready. “It was the biggest challenge in the history of my medical career in sports medicine,” Ngwenya said after the squad was announced, also explaining why Morena’s Downs teammate Aubrey Modiba was cleared to travel to the World Cup.“We had Aubrey Modiba, who pulled a hamstring during the Champions League final first leg [against AS FAR this month]. The team worked hard and managed to get Aubrey ready and he has been announced in the squad because they cleared him. They are still going to work on him but we are confident he will be fit for the opening match against Mexico.“The second was Thapelo Morena. Very sad, but we tried and gave it our best shot in terms of trying to manage him and give support. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get to where we wanted to be.“We even did a rescan on Wednesday and unfortunately it was not good.”