Déjà vu at Pirates: ‘I hope we don’t lose him’

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Sihle Nduli of Orlando Pirates stretchered off the field during a Betway Premiership match against AmaZulu FC. Photo: Gallo Images

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Déjà vu at Pirates: ‘I hope we don’t lose him’

Aug 13, 2026 – 06:15 pm
By Siya Ndlela

Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou is walking with a sense of trepidation around Sihle Nduli after the midfield workhorse suffered a nasty injury in his first match back from a lengthy layoff.

The defending league champions were held to a 1-1 draw by AmaZulu in a league match played at Kings Park Stadium on Wednesday evening.

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Nduli, who had made his long-awaited return from an injury he suffered against Golden Arrows during the first round of last season, had to be stretchered off after an over-the-top tackle by Thandolwenkosi Ngwenya in the 55th minute.

It is a heartbreaking turn of events that even moved opposition coach Arthur Zwane to offer an apology on behalf of his player in his post-match TV interview.

For his previous injury, the former Stellenbosch FC man underwent foot surgery and earning a starting berth in only the side’s second league match of the campaign proved how key he is to the set-up.

Ouaddou confirmed that the club would make further assessments on the player’s situation.

“Yes, we had to take him off because, unfortunately, he could not continue. We wanted to give him a gift, you know. If you remember, he was injured here in Durban. So, really, it was a good surprise for him to restart here,” shared Ouaddou in the post-match press conference.

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The stalemate, in a match where Bucs missed a lot of chances, leaves them with four points from their opening two matches.

Up next is Chippa United at the same venue on Sunday at 15:00.