Ahead of South Africa's upcoming friendly internationals against Guinea and France, Tau was forced to withdraw from the national team squad after sustaining an injury during Al Ahly's 3-1 win over Al-Merrikh last Friday.
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos was left frustrated by the 27-year-old's latest withdrawal and suggested that he might need an extended spell on the sidelines in order to overcome his troubles with injury.
"Percy has been injured – and I'm exaggerating now – for the last eight months," Broos told the media earlier this week.
"It's not a surprise. In June, with the transfer [from Brighton & Hove Albion] to Al Ahly, he didn't train and play so much. Then he played two tough games against Zimbabwe and Ghana with an injury.
"Then he started with Al Ahly, playing, and then an injury. I think, for Percy, it would be good if he trains for six months and doesn't play because his basic physical health is not good.
"I think every time he plays, he's overloaded, and he gets injuries. You see it with the players of [Mamelodi] Sundowns and [Orlando] Pirates players; they are overloaded and the injuries are coming.
"Percy is playing too many games and doesn't have the physical standing to do that, and he's falling from injury to injury."
Broos' comments have been interpreted, or potentially misinterpreted as a slight by former Al Ahly goalkeeper turned pundit, Ahmed Shobier, who has suggested that there may be deeper problems between Tau and his national team coach.
"South Africa head coach excluded Tau from his squad and he seems to be angry with the player," Shobeir said, per KingFut. "Percy Tau doesn’t seem to want to play for South Africa with Broos as head coach as well.
"After excluding Tau, Broos made a statement, claiming that the player needs a six-month break. That was strange, especially since Tau was one of his most important players."
