Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou confirmed an injury blow to one of his defenders, revealing that ‘he will not be available’ for the Mamelodi Sundowns encounter in the MTN8.
The Soweto giants will face the Brazilians in the second-leg of the MTN8 semi-final at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday [15h00]. The mouth-watering clash between the two giants ended in a 1-1 draw at Orlando Stadium last weekend, with a place in the final at stake.
Meanwhile, Pirates are fresh from registering their first win in the Betway Premiership after beating Stellenbosch FC 1-0 on Wednesday at Orlando Stadium thanks to a powerful strike from new signing Kamogelo Sebelebele.
Before collecting maximum points against Stellies, Pirates, who are the MTN8 defending champions had suffered two successive losses against Sekhukhune United and Marumo Gallants in the league.
On the other hand, Sundowns also claimed a morale-boosting 2-0 victory over Magesi FC in the Premiership at Seshego Stadium on Wednesday.
WHICH PIRATES KEY DEFENDER IS NOT AVAILABLE
With Pirates and Sundowns preparing for yet another fascinating cup match, Ouaddou has revealed that the talented right-back Deano Van Rooyen will not be available.
Van Rooyen picked up an injury in a match against his former side Stellenbosch, and he was substituted in the first-half.
“I have an idea [of the injury], but we don’t have definitive feedback from the medical department,” Ouaddou said.
“What I can tell you is that he will not be available [to face Sundowns], but I don’t have the full report on what he has because he still has to pass some exams so that we can see the extent of his injury.”
The former Marumo Gallants coach is likely to use Sebelebele in the right wing-back position, while Tshepho Mashiloane, Bandile Shandu, Thabiso Lebitso, and Siyabonga Ndlozi are also options.
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