Orlando Pirates coach Mandla Ncikazi admits he was pleased to see Vincent Pule return to the field of play after a long-term injury absence.
The 30-year-old made his first appearance for Pirates since October 2021 on Sunday evening as he came on as a second-half substitute in the 1-0 CAF Confederation Cup 2nd leg semi-final defeat.
Despite the loss. the Buccaneers advanced to the final where Pule will be hoping to play some part in when they face RS Berkane in Uyo, Nigeria on Friday.
Ncikazi says the was used, despite his notable lack of match sharpness as they looked to see what he could produce and how much they can push him further in training for what’s left of the 2021/22 campaign.
The return of Vincent Pule. ☠️ pic.twitter.com/M6yPq6Bja2
— Lorenz Köhler (@Lorenz_KO) May 15, 2022
“We had a choice, if you don’t give him an opportunity, he might not have an opportunity where you might not use him or look at the objectives today, you want to see him further [up the pitch],” Ncikazi said in the post-match press conference.
“Pule is an important member of the team, creative. So coming from such an unfortunate injury for a long time, it was important to give him at least 10 to 15 minutes, now we know how far he can go, then we can do more in terms of preparing him.
“If he does it into the final, those are players who win you matches and Pule’s contribution today was vivid that he was injured for a long-time but I’m still happy with the progress that he’s made.”
Pule registered three assists in five starts at the beginning of this season before injury struck, ruling him out for the last seven months.
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