The 23-year-old was kicked out of the South Africa squad prior to the team’s 2014 World Cup qualifying win over Botswana on Saturday,  reportedly for requesting to be left out so as to avoid injury ahead of the Champions League clash against Barcelona on September 18. Serero, though, insists there is no truth in those claims, and says he would never have travelled to Durban in the first place if he was not intending to play.

“I will never do such a thing,” he said in a statement provided to the Sowetan by his mentor Mike Ntombela. “I have played for Bafana Bafana in the past ahead of big Champions League games. The other thing is, I’m not the coach, so there is no guarantee that I will play. I would not have travelled to Durban from Holland if I did not want to play”.

“The truth of the matter is that I started feeling an excruciating pain after Wednesday’s training. Later in the evening, I went to coach Gordon to explain to him that I suspect my niggling groin problem is coming back. It was the same pain I felt when I was out of action for several months last year.”