JUST IN: Another boost for Sheffield Wednesday’s attacker comes from an international ruling.

This month, Joey Phuthi, a young attacker for Sheffield Wednesday, will have a longer opportunity to demonstrate his abilities on the international stage.

The 19-year-old was given a very brief debut against Kenya back in March, but it was confirmed last week that he had earned himself another call-up for Zimbabwe as they get ready to play Lesotho and South Africa in their World Cup Qualifiers for the competition’s 2026 edition. He’ll be hoping to make an impression.

He will have more opportunities to don the national team uniform this month than just those two South African games, though, as the Zimbabwean FA has announced that he is part of their roster for the COSAFA Cup, which will be held in Durban.

The tournament’s fixtures have not yet been announced, but Phuthi will be hoping that Jairos Tapera, the interim manager, will give him a chance to play at the senior level for the Warriors, given that the team is primarily composed of local players who compete in the Castle Premier Soccer League.

Lesotho will play a “home” game against Zimbabwe at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg on June 7, after which Zimbabwe’s grounds have been deemed unfit for international competition. On June 11, Bafana Bafana will play an away game at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.

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Although it was recently announced that the club had activated an option in Phuthi’s contract, which would have allowed him to stay at Wednesday for at least another year, his contract with Hillsborough was set to expire at the end of this month.