By Ben Wyatt BBC Sport

Pienaar's request to delay his departure was rejected

The midfielder, who plays for Premier League side Everton, will join up with the Bafana Bafana's African Cup of Nations squad on 6 January instead.

The 25-year-old had requested to delay his departure to play in the first-leg semi against Chelsea on 8 January.

Everton can call on Nigeria's Joseph Yobo and Yakubu Aiyegbeni who will leave late for the Ghana tournament.

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Pienaar has been told to join up with his team-mates as scheduled in Pretoria, along with Aaron Mokoena of Blackburn Rovers.

Nasief Morris (Panathinaikos), Tsepo Masilela (Maccabi Haifa) and Thembinkosi Fanteni (Ajax Cape Town) are also due to arrive at the same time to complete the side.

Pienaar played in the 2-1 victory over West Ham in the quarter-final

The director of communications for the South African Football Association (Safa), Morio Sanyane, said a tough decision needed to be made on attendance.

"Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira wanted to help out domestic clubs but realised that if he allowed Pienaar to stay he would have to let the other players attend late as well," said Sanyane.

"This would not be in the best interest of the team.

"I'm sure Pienaar will be disappointed that he is missing out on this game, but the consolation is that he will have the opportunity to play against the greatest players in Africa.

"It was a difficult decision to make, but at the end of the day, your country must come first.

"Logistically speaking, we are very happy with our preparations, the majority of the players have arrived; it's so far so good.

"We will know more though when we play our friendly matches in the coming weeks."

South Africa are set to play friendlies against Mozambique on 13 January before facing Botswana three days later.