Pirates Suffer An Injury Blow
Ahead of their crucial MTN8 second-leg semi-final against Mamelodi Sundowns at a sold-out Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday, Orlando Pirates have suffered a significant setback.
The club has confirmed that right-back Deano van Rooyen has been ruled out of the match, creating a selection headache for coach Abdeslam Ouaddou.
Van Rooyen sustained a quad muscle injury during the team’s 1-0 victory over Stellenbosch at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday. His early departure from that match impacted the team’s attack, as it meant a loss of speed from Kamogelo Sebelebele, who had scored the winning goal.
Sebelebele, who also scored the crucial goal against Sundowns in the first leg, had to be moved to the right-back position, pulling him away from his preferred advanced role.
While Sebelebele has the speed to both attack and track back, the team would ideally prefer to utilize his offensive prowess. This situation leaves Ouaddou with a difficult choice: play Sebelebele at right-back or move him back into a forward position and start Tshepo Mashiloane at fullback instead.
In a statement on their website, Pirates noted that van Rooyen’s absence “guarantees further tweaks to the Bucs back four ahead of the match, which represents another stern test to their ongoing impressive run in the competition.”
The 28-year-old is undergoing further assessments to determine the full extent of his injury.
Meanwhile, Sundowns will also be missing a key player, as veteran midfielder Themba Zwane was withdrawn from the first leg with an injury and is expected to be sidelined for an extended period.
The 1-1 draw in the first leg extended Pirates’ unbeaten streak against Sundowns in the MTN8 to six matches, marking the third time the two sides have drawn in the semi-finals since 2011.
The last time the first leg ended in a stalemate, in 2022, Pirates secured an impressive 3-0 away victory in the second leg to advance to the final. This recent history bodes well for the “Soweto Giants,” who have a decent cup record against their Tshwane rivals, having eliminated them five times and won one penalty shootout over the last 15 years, with only one elimination during that period.
