Injuries to others have given Mbule the chance to resurrect his international career and the 3-1 victory over Zambia in Gqeberha on Saturday showed just how valuable he can be to the team.
His superb pass allowed Oswin Appollis to open the scoring, while he also laid on the second for Mohau Nkota.
In a team that plays with a single striker, having a playmaking midfielder who can unlock opposing defences is vital and Mbule has stepped into the role perfectly since returning to the national side in September.
“The coach told us it is not a friendly as we are preparing for AFCON, he said we must give it our all and play like we were playing in the qualifiers of the World Cup. And that’s exactly what we did today," Mbule said.
"It was a very competitive game against Zambia, they didn’t make it easy for us before we scored the first goal and they probably analysed us.
"But we eventually managed to break them down and I made that pass to Appollis and he scored a very good goal. I am pretty much happy to be back in the national team and everyone deserves to be here, it does not matter who is on the pitch, we are complementing each other very well.”
Mbule first played for the national team in 2019 and had a single cap under Broos in 2021 in a 0-0 World Cup qualifier draw with Zimbabwe before being discarded.
Often his own worst enemy off the pitch, his talent has never been in doubt and four years on he is back in the team with an AFCON looming, and a World Cup finals appearance seven months away.
“Sipho was with us from the first day I was here and immediately I saw he was a good player. But he had interests other than football and after a few times I stopped calling him,” Broos said last month.
“When you look at his career, he played for Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates and those are big teams. When we were looking for the replacement for Themba Zwane, we tried Patrick Maswanganyi.
“Helman (Mkhalele) and I talked about him (Mbule) and agreed we are going to give him another chance.
“From the first minute when he returned, I told him: ‘This is your second chance and after this it is finished. I give you a chance and if you don’t grab it with two hands, it’s done. It’s up to you. You will not be with Bafana as long as I am the coach (if you waste the chance).
“I asked him if he wanted to be there (at the AFCON and World Cup) and he said ‘yes’, so I asked him to show me how much he wants it. I never doubted his football qualities.
“Have you seen how he is fighting and running? If you add the fighting and running to natural talent, you can be happy.”