Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has revealed that he was forced into making two substitutes early in the second half due to Bandile Shandu and Miguel Timm’s niggling injuries.

The Buccaneers ended their three game winless run in the DStv Premiership after claiming a 31- victory over Golden Arrows at the Orlando Stadium this past weekend.

However, Riveiro was forced into making two changes after the restart as Shandu and Timm were replaced by Craig Martin and Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo due to their respective injuries.

Riveiro admits that he did not want Shandu and Timm to further stress their injuries and took them off as a precaution as they were unable to complete the second half.

“Yes, Shandu he was having problem as all week, he made a huge effort to be here and play for the team but he couldn’t make it more than 45 (minutes),” Riveiro told SuperSport TV.

“And same with Miguel (Timm), he’s a fighter but in the first half he was not at his best and we decided not to take a risk. We’re lucky because whoever we bring from the bench is a quality player, we changed Miguel but we played (Ndabayithethwa) Ndlondlo.

“We changed Shandu, we have (Craig) Martin so all of them are very involved, they are ready, they are training well and are performing as they did in the second half.”

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