Players boost for Pirates ahead MTN 8 Cup finals

By Benjamin Nyirenda

Four key Orlando Pirates players were in training on Tuesday morning ahead of this weekend’s MTN8 final against Stellenbosch FC.

The Buccaneers are set to take on Stellies at Mbombela Stadium in a repeat of last season’s final and they could have a big boost with these three players taking part in training.

Midfielder Patrick Maswanganyi was part of the training session after he was recently withdrawn from the Bafana Bafana squad. Maswanganyi was replaced by teammate Sipho Mbule in the Bafana squad, but was involved in training and appears to be in the right condition to be considered for selection this weekend.

Another key man who was involved in training is captain Nkosinathi Sibisi, who has been out for a few weeks. Sibisi was unable to be part of the Bafana squad due to his injury, but was looking lively in the training session on Tuesday as the Buccaneers put in the work to prepare themselves for a fourth consecutive MTN8 final.

Lebone Seema and Mbekezeli Mbokazi have been playing as the two centre backs in Sibisi’s absence and it will be interesting to see if head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou calls on his experience in the final, or he carries on with the promising stars who have been doing well at the back over the last few weeks.

Reigning Betway Premiership midfielder of the season Makhehlene Makhaula was also involved in training, showing no discomfort at all. He is yet to make an appearance this season and will no doubt be fighting hard to convince Ouaddou to include him.

Defender Thabiso Sesane, who has been recovering from an injury he picked up last season, was also part of the preparations on Monday. Competition, however, is tough and he may not be able to get back into the starting line-up yet.

Visible absentees in the Pirates training were Tapelo Xoki and Olisa Ndah