Pirates coach Riveiro refuses to talk about Saleng ahead of Cup tie

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has declined to respond to questions surrounding the absence of talented winger Monnapule Saleng.

Saleng has been a notable absentee from the Buccaneers’ matchday squad since December last year when he featured for the club in a goalless draw against Al Ahly at Orlando Stadium in the CAF Champions League group stages.

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The winger started the 2024/25 season on a high, scoring five goals and providing one assist in 13 matches in all competitions for Pirates.And his absence from the Pirates matchday squads has raised speculation about his future at the Pirates. 

Speaking to the media ahead of Saturday’s Nedbank Cup last-16 clash against Baroka FC at the Orlando Stadium at 3pm, Riveiro said it was not part of his job to respond to questions on the non-availability of players in the team.

“I don’t speak about the health of my players; it’s something that belongs to the private space,” said Riveiro.

“The moments the club feels it’s time to speak about which players are injured and how long they are going to take, which moment of the process they’re in, they’ll do it. It’s not part of my job description; it’s not an ethical thing.

“I know it will be nice to know how close Olisa (Ndah) or (Goodman) Mosele is and what’s happening with Saleng but it’s not going to happen,” added Riveiro.

Meanwhile, following their 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus last weekend, Riveiro insists that Pirates are “still alive” ahead of their Nedbank Cup clash against Baroka.

“It’s an important game to show that we’re still alive. It’s going to be needed much more this season to move Pirates out of the road because it’s not going to be possible, let’s put it that way,” said Riveiro.

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“We went through a tough week in terms of the level of the games and the level of the opponents that we faced in a short space of time. We didn’t finish that week the way we wanted in Pretoria, so the beginning of the week was more about rest and recovering the players from the conditioning and physical perspective.

“But if I say now that we’re doing or preparing something special because we lost last week, it would mean we are reacting after one defeat. We are not a reactive team and we’re running our own race,” concluded Riveiro.