Ouaddou is delighted to have his players back from injury.
Orlando Pirates have received a massive injury boost ahead of Saturday’s MTN8 final against Stellenbosch FC with four key players returning to training on Tuesday.
The Buccaneers will play Stellies at a sold-out Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit in what will be a repeat of last season’s final of the same competition at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, which Pirates won 3-1 to lift the trophy for the third time in a row.
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With the final on the horizon, Pirates welcomed Nkosinathi Sibisi, Thabiso Sesane, Makhehleni Makhaula and Patrick Maswanganyi back to training.
While Sesane and Makhaula are yet to feature for Pirates in the new season after picking up injuries in the second round of the previous season, Sibisi and Maswanganyi have been an integral part of coach Abdeslam Ouaddou’s system.
Ouaddou happy to have his stars back
Ouaddou is delighted to have his players back from injury especially Maswanganyi, who missed Bafana Bafana’s FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Nigeria because of an injury.
“Yes, Patrick is ready for the final. The fact that you saw him on the pitch, it means that the medical department gave him the green light to be there,” said Ouaddou during the Pirates media day at the Rand Stadium in Johannesburg yesterday.
“I’m happy that he’s coming back. It seems like the injury is not so serious. Whenever my players are injured, I’m very sad. So, I’m happy that he’s with us.”
Emotional Ouaddou thanks hospital doctors
Meanwhile, in what will come as a welcome relief to the Pirates fans, Ouaddou will lead the team in the final against Stellies after recovering from the injury sustained during a serious accident.
The incident occurred on the R21 highway while the team was on their way back from Gqeberha following their 3-0 victory over Chippa United in their last league match before the FIFA international break.
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“I’m a bit emotional of course, emotional not because of the final, but emotional to be able to speak to you [the media after the incident]. Even though I said earlier that I don’t want to talk about the incident, I would like to thank all the personnel at the hospital.
“The surgeons in South Africa did well to make sure that I was able to lead the team on Saturday. Thanks to the doctors, the cleaners, everybody at the hospital,” commented Ouaddou.