Pirates Face Polokwane Clash Without Star Mofokeng

Orlando Pirates have confirmed that there is a strong possibility they will be without star attacker Relebohile Mofokeng for their Betway Premiership clash against Polokwane City at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday.

Mofokeng sustained an injury during Pirates’ 1-0 victory over Siwelele in the Carling Knockout Round of 16 in Soweto, where Mbekezeli Mbokazi scored the decisive late winner early this month.

The 20-year-old winger was substituted in the 62nd minute and replaced by Kamogelo Sebelebele.

Mofokeng was subsequently withdrawn from Bafana Bafana’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying squad for the matches against Zimbabwe and Rwanda earlier this month.

Despite national coach Hugo Broos rating Mofokeng highly, South Africa still managed to secure qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a convincing 3-0 win over Rwanda at Mbombela Stadium last Tuesday.

Pirates will also be without defenders Tapelo Xoki and Deano van Rooyen for the midweek fixture against Rise and Shine.

Van Rooyen has missed the last eight matches in all competitions, including the damaging 3-0 defeat to St. Eloi Lupopo in the CAF Champions League second preliminary round first leg in the DR Congo this past weekend.

Xoki, meanwhile, has been sidelined since being involved in a car accident in August following Pirates’ match against Chippa United. The incident also involved goalkeeper coach Tyron Damonds and head coach Abdelsam Ouaddou.

The former AmaZulu defender has yet to feature for Pirates this season.

“They could still be without attacking midfielder Relebohile Mofokeng, who sat out the trip to West Africa, along with the likes of Deano van Rooyen and Tapelo Xoki, who have both been on the sidelines over the past few weeks,” Pirates said in a statement.

Pirates head into the fixture sitting third on the Betway Premiership table with 15 points from seven matches, six points behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, who have played three games more.