Pretoria - Bafana skipper Steven Pienaar has travelled with the squad to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier match in Cairo despite his knee injury.
Pienaar limped off the team's final training session at the Randfontein stadium on Thursday after injuring his knee following a collision with defender, Happy Jele.
The experienced midfielder was assessed at the team's hotel and will be further assessed during the team's stay in Cairo.
Asked about Pienaar's injury, Bafana head coach Pitso Mosimane said: "He is struggling; we have two days before the match so let's see. These things happen; you get injured at training because this is a professional sport.
"I will wait until the last moment to take the decision, even if it is on the day of the match. I'm just going to try and not to be emotional about it. It would be nice if he is ruled out, but my experience tells me things like this happen sometimes."
Mosimane further said should Pienaar fail to recover on time for Sunday's match, his vice-captain, Siphiwe Tshabalala will take over the armband, a fitting tribute to the player who made his national debut five years ago in Cairo against Egypt.
However, Bafana players are optimistic that they have what it takes to take on Egypt in their backyard.
According to Mosimane, the players understand what needs to be done as they have prepared very well.
"It is going to be a very tactical match that will require a lot of brains, but we will also need a bit of luck, which obviously comes with a lot of effort. My players now need to show that they can win away in a very competitive match like Egypt," he said.
Speaking before the team's departure to Cairo last night, defender Anele Ngcongca said their objective was to return with three points.
"We have been working on our tactics at training and are well prepared for the big clash against Egypt. Their pace at the back is very slow, while we have quick forwards so we need to exploit that.
"As a player, you always want to win, so we cannot afford to defend and hope for victory. We need to go all out to get it. We are not focusing on their history against us because they are also humans and can make mistakes," he said.
The two giants will meet at the Cairo Military Academy Stadium on Sunday. Kick-off is at 8:30pm.
