By John Goliath in Port Elizabeth
Lance Davids has been handed a World Cup lifeline following the injury to right-back Siboniso Gaxa and now the 24-year-old Ajax Cape Town utility player is looking to grab the opportunity with both hands.
Gaxa withdrew from the squad because of an ankle injury after playing 26 games on the trot on the right side of the defensive line.
Davids, who has played most of his football in central midfield, fell out of favour with former coach Joel Santana after being a regular under Carlos Alberto Parreira.
Central midfielders Reneilwe Letsholonyane, Kagisho Dikgacoi, Macbeth Sibaya and the injured Benson Mhlongo have been preferred of late.
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Davids has been very inconsistent since coming back to South Africa in 2008 after he was sent abroad at the tender age of 14. Limited game time over the past few years overseas could be the reason but he is certainly getting better with every game he plays for his Cape club.
Now Parreira is back for his second stint and the World Cup winner has roped Davids in to fill the void left by Gaxa. There aren't too many right-backs in the squad and the Cape Town-born player is likely to start against Japan at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
It seems his versatility could be a key factor in realising his dream of playing at the 2010 World Cup. He has impressed in a couple of games at right-back for Ajax and also came off the bench for Bafana in the position at the last African Nations Cup in Ghana under Parreira's guidance.
"The position is not new to me because I have been playing there over the past few years," Davids said after arriving with his team mates from Johannesburg on Tuesday.
"Like I said I'm a utility player and will play wherever the coach wants to use me.
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