Bongokuhle Hlongwane could be available to play this weekend after missing the past three games for his MLS club Minnesota United because of a knee injury, coach Adrian Heath said on Wednesday.

Hlongwane has returned to training with the team at the start of the week, having been out since getting hit on the knee in the first half of the 2-0 victory at New York City FC on August 20.

"Hopefully he has no reaction to the work he has done," Heath said. "We'll build him up this week. The one thing with him is he has played an awful lot of football. It's not like two weeks is really going to curtail his fitness.

"We're hopeful he's going to come through it and if he does, he should be available for the weekend."

Minnesota host New England Revolution on Saturday after one win and two draws in their last three games with the former Maritzburg United winger.

Hlongwane’s injury saw him omitted from the South Africa squad to take on Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo in friendly internationals over the next week at the Orlando Stadium.

Hlongwane is the top scorer for his club this season with six goals in MLS action and a further seven in the recently-concluded Leagues Cup, the month-long mid-season tournament that pitted MLS outfits against teams from Mexico’s Liga MX.

Minnesota sit in seventh spot in the Western Conference and are in line-up for a place in the end of season playoffs.