Baxter met with the player in Manchester

South Africa manager Stuart Baxter is confident that Quinton Fortune will end his self-imposed absence from the Bafana-Bafana.

Baxter met with the Manchester United player in a bid to convince him participate in South Africa's campaign to qualify for the 2006 African Cup of Nations and World Cup.

"It was a very good exchange of views and I'm confident a breakthrough has been achieved," said Baxter.

Fortune, 27, has refused to play for his country since 2003, after being described as "unpatriotic" by Baxter's predecessor Ephraim Mashaba.

I'm confident a breakthrough has been achieved South Africa manager Stuart Baxter

The player Fortune was involved in a row over his availability for a match against Jamaica in March last year and subsequently avoided all contact with South African officials.

The utility player won the last of his 43 caps against Spain in the 2002 World Cup finals in South Korea.

Fortune is the last of several disaffected players that Baxter has sought to persuade back to the national team.

Among those who have recommitted themselves to the team are strikers Benni McCarthy, who plays for Portuguese champions Porto, and Shaun Bartlett of English Premiership side Charlton Athletic.

Defender Mark Fish, who also plays for Charlton, retired from international football last month after heavy criticism of his performance by local newspaper columnists.

Fish had made a brief comeback in two World Cup qualifying matches in June.