Orlando Pirates cautiously assess Oswin Appollis before African Stars return

Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou says Oswin Appollis is making encouraging progress from injury, but the attacker will not be rushed back for Friday’s CAF Champions League meeting with African Stars.

The 25-year-old, who has been likened by his manager to a Ferrari requiring careful handling, was hurt during Pirates’ 3-0 Betway Premiership win over TS Galaxy. Appollis provided an assist in that match but was then unavailable for the Buccaneers’ second preliminary round first-leg fixture against African Stars in Botswana last weekend.

The Bafana Bafana international has since returned to training, giving Pirates hope that he could feature in the decisive second leg at Orlando. However, Ouaddou said the club would take a cautious approach because of Appollis’ importance to the team.

Speaking at a media briefing at the Orlando Amstel Arena on Thursday, Ouaddou said the training session had been used to assess how the player was responding physically.

“Look, I’m happy that he’s coming back in training. The target today was to assess him, to see what he’s able to do,” said Ouaddou.

“We start with the warm-up, to see if he can sprint. So, it’s good news. It’s good news that I spoke with him at the end of training. He told me that he doesn’t feel any more pain.”

Although that update was positive, the coach stressed that Pirates could not afford to expose Appollis to further problems by bringing him back too quickly.

“But at the same time, you have to understand that Oswin is really an important player in our team,” he added.

Ouaddou has previously described his Pirates players as “Ferraris”, using the comparison to explain why he wants their fitness managed carefully during a demanding schedule.

“I told them, they are all Ferraris. It means Ferraris, you have to take care of the engine very well, and I don’t want to take a risk with one of the important players,” he said.

The coach also pointed to the number of significant matches still ahead as another reason for avoiding a rushed return.

“So, we have many games, somebody mentioned it, important games. So, we have to be careful not to burn the stages,” he continued.

Pirates will host African Stars in the return leg at Orlando on Friday. Kick-off is scheduled for 20:00.