The former Bafana Bafana international who was recently appointed to the national team’s technical staff, was travelling from Burgersfort to Polokwane when the incident occurred.

South Africa assistant coach Thomas Madigage has been killed in a car crash at the age of 41.

The former FC Zurich player was travelling from Burgersfort to Polokwane in Limpopo on Thursday when his car struck a donkey on the road, causing the fatal crash.

The ex-Bafana Bafana international was recently appointed to the technical team of the national side by coach Gordon Igesund, and had only just arrived back from the internationals against Poland and Kenya.

At one stage, Madigage held the record as the youngest player to appear in a South African league match aged 15.

He started his career at Jomo Cosmos and moved on to FC Zurich in Switzerland, where he played just one game before a knee injury kept him out for a whole season.

Injuries subsequently plagued his career and he only made four national team appearances.

He ended his playing career at SuperSport United, where he took on a coaching role and was named assistant to Pitso Mosimane and later Gavin Hunt.

He stayed in that role for a decade before being elevated to the national team by Igesund.