The 27-year-old missed the whole of Leeds United's campaign in the Engish Championship after suffering anterior cruciate ligament damage in pre-season. Somma had hoped to make his return in March and force his way into contention for Pitso Mosimane's squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Ethiopia and Botswana next month but suffered a major setback in his recovery. With Leeds having finished a disappointing 14th – nine points adrift of the play-offs – the Edenvale-born striker has been sorely missed. Manager Neil Warnock admitted he has yet to see much of Somma but revealed that his assistant Mick Jones has been waxing lyrical about his ability. "Mick loves him. I've not seen a lot of him but Mick has and he loves him," he said. "But you just don't know when you've had injuries like that. When you've been out for the length of time he has it's difficult to predict if a player can sustain the top level of Championship football." Somma made his Bafana debut against USA back in November 2010 and scored on his second appearance against Kenya. He will now be hoping to prove his fitness in time to force himself into contention for next year's African Nations Cup Finals.
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