Bafana Bafana midfielder Steven Pienaar will be available for Tuesday night's clash against Ireland at Thomond Park in Limerick after recovering from his groin injury.

Pienaar limped off the field during Bafana's 2-0 loss to Germany at the Bay Arena in Leverkusen on Saturday evening and it was feared that he would not be fit to face the Irish. But Bafana team manager, Sipho Nkumane, says the Everton midfielder will indeed play.

"The doctors have assured us that Steven's groin injury is nothing to worry about and he will be available for selection. In fact, he trained with the other members of the team and didn't experience any pain at all," Nkumane told the Daily Dispatch.

Bafana Bafana have lost five matches on the trot and a loss to Ireland will raise numerous questions about their readiness for next year?s World Cup tournament.

"Truly speaking, we are under pressure to turn things around and start winning. We have to redeem ourselves during the match after losing to Germany on Saturday," added Nkumane.

Meanwhile, Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni is reportedly going to make changes to his team after allowing Robbie Keane, Richard Dunne, Shay Given and Kevin Kilbane to return to their families following their win over Cyprus last weekend.

Caleb Folan, Andy Keogh, Liam Lawrence, Keiren Westwood and Darren O'Dea will get a chance to show what they can do for their country while Damien Duff is likely to captain the Irish national team in Keane's absence.