NATIONAL TEAM - SOUTH AFRICA - RANTIE’S PROSPECTS ARE BRIGHTER
AFRICA CUP 2015 AFRICA CUP 2015 QUALIFIERS
The 24-year-old suffered a partial dislocation of his shoulder in the 2:2 draw with Ipswich last month.
The 16-team tournament begins in Equatorial Guinea on 17 January.
"I said to him the other day, we are probably getting him fit now for the African Cup of Nations," assistant boss Jason Tindall told the club website.
"As soon as he gets fit he will probably have to go away, but we are hoping to have him back just after Christmas.
"If we can get him back and get him some game time then that would be great because he was looking really, really sharp before he unfortunately injured his shoulder."
Rantie, who has two league goals for the Cherries this season, scored three times in his last two games for South Africa to help the Bafana Bafana qualify for the Cup of Nations.