Orlando Pirates captain Innocent Maela has been ruled out of the MTN8 final along with midfielders Goodman Mosele and Fortune Makaringe.
Maela limped out in the first half of their Soweto Derby defeat to Kaizer Chiefs last week while Mosele also was forced off during the clash at FNB Stadium.
Neither has passed their fitness tests to feature this week along with Makaringe, with returning Miguel Timm and potentially Thabang Monare up for a swifter return than expected.
“We decided not to risk the injury,” Maela said, in brief, this morning at the Adidas store in Springfield Park, Durban,
It comes as a major blow for head coach Jose Riveiro with either Thapelo Xoki or Paseka Mako now set to deputise for their skipper while Nkosinathi Sibisi is tipped to be handed the armband in his absence,
The Buccaneers will ‘host’ AmaZulu this afternoon in the first domestic cup final of the 2022/23 season at the Moses Mabhida Stadium (18h00).
