Royal AM defender Happy Jele is fit to face his former club Orlando Pirates at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday (15:00).
In the pictures seen by iDiski Times, Jele has travelled with the club to Gauteng where Royal AM will face a Pirates side that is firing on all cylinders, having won their last eight games in all competitions.
Jele was a major doubt ahead of this match after he pulled a muscle on 16 April in the Nedbank Cup quarter-final loss to Kaizer Chiefs at Chatsworth Stadium, lasting just more than 20 minutes.
The 36-year-old has since missed the last two matches for Royal AM, a 1-1 draw against TS Galaxy the away 2-1 loss to Cape Town City on Saturday.
“They [Jele and Ruzaigh Gamildien] have started training and I think they will be available for selection on Wednesday,” said coach John Maduka.
Jele spent 15 years with Pirates, before leaving the club at the end of last season. He won the league title twice, the Nedbank Cup also twice, one Telkom Knockout and three MTN8s.
He was the skipper when the Bucs lost the CAF Confed Cup last season, the second time Pirates lost a final in a CAF inter-club competition. He was also part of the Bucs side that lost the Champions League in 2013, and featured in over 400 appearances, and is regarded as one of the legends of the club.
With Pirates on high at the moment, it will take an arm wrestle for any side to beat them and hand them a third league loss at Orlando Stadium this term.
Other than Mamelodi Sundowns and Chippa United this season, Pirates, in Soweto, have made things difficult for other teams and they are looking at cementing their second spot on the log to qualify for the Champions League next term.
Last season Pirates also lost just once at Orlando Stadium to Sundowns, and it was also Sundowns who defeated them at home in the 2020/21 season, while they went without a loss in the 2019/20 campaign.
Other than Sundowns twice in the last three seasons, the last club outside of the Tshwane giants to beat Pirates before Chippa this season were Bidvest Wits in the 2018/19 season, when Bucs finished second in the table.
Maduka said, as much as Pirates have been difficult to beat at home, this gives them an opportunity to bounce back after two losses.
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“This gives us time to redeem ourselves,” said Maduka.
“We win against Pirates, the confidence comes in again. Everyone in this league is beatable. Like the game against City, we were supposed to do well, we were supposed to get the results and the worst case scenario was a draw and not to lose.”
