Orlando Pirates received a huge boost ahead of the MTN8 final against Mamelodi Sundowns at Moses Mabhida Stadium next month with the recovery of Thalente Mbatha and Evidence Makgopa.
Mbatha and Makgopa have returned to full-team training following recovery from their respective injuries, and this is welcome news for coach Abdeslam Ouaddou.
Bafana internationals Mbatha and Makgopa will add more options for Ouaddou against the Brazilians in their hugely anticipated final on October 10 in Durban.
They have been sidelined with knee and patellar tendinitis injuries, respectively, since early August and were not considered for Pitso Mosimane’s Bafana squad for Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers against Guinea and Eritrea.
In Mbatha’s absence, Ouaddou has used Simphiwe Selepe, Thapelo Mokobodi, Mthetheleli Mthiyane and Camren Dansin, and Makgopa’s unavailability saw increased opportunities for Yanela Mbuthuma and Boitumelo Radiopane.
In other team news, the Pirates medical team also disclosed that attackers Mohau Nkota and Andre de Jong are making progress in their respective rehabilitation programmes.
Nkota, who is on loan from Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq, is recovering from a knee injury. De Jong is undergoing treatment for a hamstring injury. They have progressed to field-based rehabilitation.
There is no clear time frame as to when Nkota and De Jong will return to action.
While there is promise regarding Mbatha, Makgopa, Nkota and De Jong, defensive midfielder Sihle Nduli is still some way from full recovery as he has just started running on the field.
“Sihle has started running on the field and is scheduled to undergo field-based rehabilitation for approximately two weeks before beginning his reintegration into full-team training,” Pirates senior physiotherapist Kutlwano Molefe said.
TimesLIVE