Kaizer Chiefs defender Eric Mathoho was looking forward to playing for Bafana Bafana again, but will have to wait until the next international date in October.

The towering defender was named in coach Molefi Ntseki’s Bafana squad two weeks ago, but their international friendlies against Zambia and Madagascar was called off due to the recent xenophobic violence.

The 29-year-old has not been part of the national team since 2017 after spending most of his time on the sidelines through his respective injuries.

However, Mathoho is happy to be back in the national team set-up and has praised the new Bafana head coach, who replaced Stuart Baxter two weeks ago.

‘I was not happy because I was looking forward to play the friendly game for Bafana‚’ Mathoho told the media.

‘I think he is a good coach.

‘I know him from the days when he was coaching and I was playing at Bloemfontein Celtic.’