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The Buccaneers are in action at the Caf Confederation Cup on Sunday night against Al Ahli Benghazi at the February Martyrs Stadium
Having players returning from international service with injuries and ailments has made life very difficult for Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer.
Sunday’s match for Group A of the Confederation Cup will be the first time a Caf club match has been played in Libya since 2010 due to unrest in the country.
The game comes after Afcon and Pirates qualifiers have been badly hit by injuries to players who were absent from international duty, including Thabang Monare and Innocent Maela, while Bafana captain Thulani Hlatshwayo can still play. despite having returned with a stomach problem.
The likes of Deon Hotto, Thabiso Monyane and Thembinkosi Lorch also remain sidelined.
In addition to Monare, Maela and Hlatshwayo, two other Pirates players, Ben Motshwari and Vincent Pule, were also on the national team that traveled across the continent to Sudan last week.
Meanwhile, Hotto is an integral part of the Namibia team and Gabadinho Mhango is an important part of the Malawi team, when he is fit.
The Pirates’ wide range of internationals, some of whom are now injured, contrasts with the situation at Kaizer Chiefs.
Since the Chiefs’ starting XI against Wydad Casablanca in the Caf Champions League on Saturday, only Itumeleng Khune had recently been involved internationally – he was an unused substitute in the 2-1 loss in Sudan, and it was debatable whether the The veteran’s place in the Bafana squad had been deserved in the first place, after what has been an erratic season.
The only other player to fulfill his duty on Amakhosi’s senior team was Kenyan Anthony Akumu Agay, who was not on the squad on Saturday. Khama Billiat would have been with the Zimbabwean side, but has just recovered from a broken leg.
In any event, as it turned out, the success that many of the Pirates’ players have enjoyed this season has become a double-edged sword of late, as it also meant more games played, more travel and more injuries.
To the Chiefs’ credit, they made a show of fighting to beat Wydad 1-0, and their cause was probably unaffected by having players who were a bit fresher, who hadn’t traveled the continent to fulfill their international obligations. .
For the Buccaneers, their team’s depth will be tested in what will be a very difficult away game for them in Libya. If they can come up with a point, they will have done well.
The Bucs lead Group A with four points from two games. Enyimba and Al Ahli Benghazi have three points and ES Setif has only one point.
