Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has explained the absence of Monnapule Saleng and Olisa Ndah during the Betway Premiership match against Richards Bay FC in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday.
Pirates beat Richards Bay 1-0 at the King Zwelithini Stadium to maintain their unbeaten run in both the CAF Champions League and domestic football.
READ | Riveiro reveals importance of Pirates bench
The Buccaneers are currently second on the log standings with nine points, having played three games in the league so far.
Up next, Riveiro's charge take on a tricky Stellenbosch FC in the MTN8 final in Durban on Saturday evening.
The big news coming from the Pirates camp, which will have the club's faithful losing some sleep over the coming days, is that the duo of Ndah and Saleng remain doubtful for the match that will see the winner walking away with a whopping R10 million prize.
"Remember in our last game against Polokwane City, both were subbed [off] because of different injuries. That is the reason they are not here. They couldn't make it, they were not available for selection," Riveiro told journalists after the match on Sunday.
READ | 'Saleng is going to be a legend of Pirates one day'
"It's not 100% sure if they will play in the final. We're not saving anybody, we're taking every game as a final for us. We're giving the same respect to Richards Bay [that] we will give to Stellenbosch in the final. That's how we want to do things. There is nothing like saving players," he added.
Interestingly, both Ndah and Saleng scored the side's first two goals in this season's edition of the tournament, as they ran out 3-1 victors in the quarter-finals against SuperSport United in early August.