ORLANDO Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer has breathed a sigh of relief that he will have a full strength squad when they meet Chippa United in a DStv Premiership match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday (5pm).
Zinnbauer had an injury crisis that saw all his strikers being ruled out of action, forcing him to rely heavily on wingers like Deon Hotto and Vincent Pule to keep their winning momentum.
The return of Gabadinho Mhango and Tshegofatso Mabasa to action in their 1-0 win over Bloemfontein on Tuesday was good news for the German coach.
But the possibility of having winger Thembinkosi Lorch available for selection will give his side the much needed boost upfront. Said Zinnbauer: “Lorch has been working very well in training sessions.
“We will see in the next two days what is happening (match fitness) with him.
“I hope we get him back on Saturday and I have a good feeling (he will be available for selection).
“Gaba (Mhango) was long out (injured). He needs time (to regain form) and we gave him 20 minutes.
“We will have Monare (Thabang) back from suspension, so we will have more options.”
Zinnbauer also revealed that midfielder Nkanyiso Zungu might travel with the team to Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) after he missed the Celtic encounter due to a swollen arm.
Said Zinnbauer: “Zungu yesterday (Monday) fell on his arm and was swollen.
“He had light training on Tuesday, but it was not enough for the game. Maybe he will be available on Saturday.”
Even though the gap between Pirates and log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns has been narrowed to four points, Zinnbauer stressed that his charges are not title contenders.
Pirates have occupied third spot with a point behind second placed SuperSport United on 32 points from 19 matches.
However, Downs have three games in hand compared to the two teams.
Added the German tactician: “Difficult game, very tough, not a good performance from us.
“We played the Nedbank Cup (3-1 win over Maritzburg United on Saturday) and you can see that players are not fresh enough. We don’t have enough points to talk about top of the log. We have two more games than Swallows and three more than Sundowns. We are taking it game by game and when we get closer, we can talk about the title.”
