Club Brugge coach Philippe Clement has insisted that he had little option but to allow Brighton & Hove Albion loanee Percy Tau to link up with the South Africa squad despite his injury.
Tau joined the Belgian giants on loan from Brighton in the summer and has been an important part of Clement’s squad this season.
Just ahead of the international break, the forward was taken off before half time in Club Brugge’s 4-0 win over Gent due to an injury and he was likely to miss South Africa’s international friendly against Mali.
But he was still forced to take a lengthy flight to link up with the national team only to sit on the sidelines due to his injury and watch the Proteas beat Mali 2-1.
Club Brugge were irritated by South Africa’s decision to as Tau to travel despite his injury, but Clement admits that the club had little option but to release him.
A failure to report for national team duty would have meant that Tau could have been suspended from Club Brugge's next game, in line with FIFA rules.
“If we do not release them, they will be suspended from the competition afterwards”, Clement said on Extra Time, when asked about Tau going.
Club Brugge are hoping Tau will be fit for their Champions League game against Paris Saint-Germain next week.
