Benni McCarthy will miss South Africa's opening four qualifiers for the African Cup of Nations.
Striker pulls out of qualifiers
Benni McCarthy will miss South Africa's opening four qualifiers for the African Cup of Nations.
The striker held discussions with national coach Joel Santana in Johannesburg on Wednesday, with the outcome of the meeting being that he will not be joining his team-mates for training next week.
The reasons behind the Blackburn forward's withdrawal remain unclear, but the player himself has cited "family issues".
The hosts of the 2010 World Cup are preparing for a tough opening qualifier against Nigeria, and despite accepting McCarthy's reasons for departure on this occasion Santana has made it clear that he will not tolerate the situation becoming a regular occurrence.
Focus
"I had a frank, but good discussion with Benni where we listened with full attention to what he had to say," he said.
"We appreciate the situation that he has explained to us and we therefore fully understand the personal circumstances that he finds himself under."
He added: "Benni is one of the best players in the world and that cannot be ignored. The door has been left open to him for the future, but it will also be up to him.
"I put our position very clearly to him that we want this to be the last time we have to talk about him.
"We have important games now that we want to focus on. I have just arrived in South Africa and I have a job to do."
Respect
McCarthy has a reputation for disciplinary problems and went on self-imposed 18-month international exile until former South Africa coach Carlos Alberto Parreira persuaded him to rejoin the fold.
He insists that there are no ulterior motives behind his withdrawal on this occasion, and has praised Santana for granting him permission to leave.
"I have great respect for coach Santana and appreciate that he understood my current family issues," he said.
"Admittedly, I must say that I'm a little bit disappointed that I won't feature in any of the four qualifiers but then I understand that the coach does not want me to disrupt his camp.
"On the other hand, it gives me an opportunity to address my personal issues and I hope I will be called in future."
"I am happy with the coach and wish the team the best of luck in the coming crucial matches.
"I also hope that my team-mates will do us proud against Nigeria by believing in themselves, like I believe in them. I am confident that they will go in there and fight for the three points at stake."
