Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has opened up on the injury sustained by Sihle Nduli during their 1-1 Betway Premiership draw against AmaZulu FC at Kings Park Stadium on Wednesday night.
The Buccaneers were held to a 1-1 draw by a stubborn AmaZulu side in Durban, dropping points for the first time in the 2026/27 campaign—much to the dissatisfaction of Ouaddou.
Pirates scored first in the first-half with a goal from Bafana Bafana international Tshepang Moremi. Their lead was cancelled out on the stroke of half-time by a Thandolwenkosi Ngwenya penalty.
Usuthu did enough in defence to prevent the defending league champions from collecting maximum points, having opened their season with a win against Milford FC.
Meanwhile, the match against AmaZulu marked a return for Sihle Nduli to the matchday squad after missing the second round of the previous season due to a long-term injury.
WHAT OUADDOU SAID ABOUT SIHLE NDULI’S INJURY
Nduli’s emotional return to the pitch only lasted for 55 minutes after he sustained an injury from a tackle by Ngwenya, who caught the former Stellenbosch FC anchorman on the ankle.
With concerns mounting over the extent of Nduli’s injury, Ouaddou has revealed that the full severity of the setback is not yet known.
“We had to take him [Nduli] out because unfortunately he could not continue,” Ouaddou said.
“We wanted to give him a gift, you know, if you remember, he suffered an injury here in Durban. So it was a good surprise for him to restart here, and he got injured.
“We hope that it’s not so bad. Now we are going to do an analysis; I can’t give you an update on that. We’ll examine and see, but I hope we didn’t lose him again.
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