MTN8: Pirates coach confirms triple injury blow ahead of Sundowns clash

Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has confirmed that he will be without three key players for their MTN8 semi-final against Mamelodi Sundowns.

Pirates face Sundowns in a high stakes semi-final first leg at a sold-out Orlando Stadium on Saturday August 16 and there is a lot of pressure on Ouaddou to clinch a win after back-to-back league defeats.

The Buccaneers have been beaten by Sekhukhune United and Marumo Gallants in their last two matches in the PSL and will need a positive result to return confidence among supporters but will have to do it without three key players.

“Most of the players are available, we only have [Nkosinathi] Sibisi, [Makhehleni] Makhaula, who is still coming back from his injury. We still have [Olisa] Ndah out but most of the players are still available,” Ouaddou said during his pre-match press conference on Thursday.

Ouaddou’s selection will be under scrutiny

Of the three, Sibisi and Makhaula played a key part last season but Ndah was injured for most of the campaign, having suffered a knee injury last October, and is yet to make an appearance since.

Pirates are the defending champions in the MTN8, having won the last three titles, and need a good first leg result to stay in contention for a fourth final on the bounce.

Ouaddou is already facing criticism so soon in the season after the last two defeats, with his selection coming under scrutiny especially in the match against Gallants, when he left out a number of key players from the squad while others started on the bench.

His selection will therefore be under scrutiny on Saturday as he cannot afford to get it wrong and end up losing against a Sundowns side full of quality.