Orlando Pirates coach Milutin Sredojevic is not ruling out the possibility of bringing back Thamsanqa Sangweni for Saturday’s big Absa Premiership Soweto derby against Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium on Saturday.
The Serbian coach said the magnitude of the derby (kickoff: 3.30pm) demands that he considers the former Chippa United midfielder given the challenges Pirates have had in their midfield since a knee injury forced Sangweni to miss the Buccaneers’ last seven league matches.
Sangweni‚ signed to give force and direction in Pirates’ midfield‚ has so far only featured in Bucs’ opening league game of the season‚ a match Pirates won 1-0 against his former club Chippa United on August 19.
“We’ll monitor the state of every player and definitely Sangweni is among those players we’ll consider for this match if he’s fit and ready‚” said Sredojevic‚ who lamented his side’s lack of intensity in their 1-1 drawn match against Platinum Stars on Wednesday.
“Sangweni is still in the process of returning‚ he’s in contention. We shall see whether a match of this magnitude is the right one to bring him back. But we know he’s a player with a big heart‚ top class and could add value for us in the derby.”
The absence of Sangweni has forced Sredojevic to reshuffle his central midfield pairing‚ with captain Thabo Matlaba brought in to play alongside Musa Nyatama in a number of games where Sangweni has been sidelined.
Sredojevic spoke about his challenge of changing the lineup in almost every match due to injuries in his team.
“We’ve registered enough players so that we have cover in case of injuries like we’ve had in Sangweni’s case.
“It is challenging‚ yes‚ but I can never be a cry-baby. We must always look to find the solutions and possibilities in other players.”
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