Has Monnapule Saleng's absence disadvantaged Orlando Pirates in the PSL title bid against Mamelodi Sundowns? Mokoena opens up

Monnapule Saleng last played an official match for Orlando Pirates in December 2024.

He is being frozen out after boycotting training as he pushed for a move abroad.

It is a development that has attracted the interest of fans who feel Saleng's absence has affected their Premier Soccer League title bid.

Former Pirates star Lebohang Mokoena also shares similar sentiments as the Soweto giants trail leaders Mamelodi Sundowns by 18 points, although they have played two fewer games.

“It does,” said Mokoena when questioned about Saleng’s absence having an effect, as per iDiski Times.

“You know, talking from experience, you don’t want to see a fellow teammate that’s always playing and contributing to the team go through such because it does cause a ripple effect. Because now, if you look at the current Pirates squad, you had a Tito [Patrick Maswangany] if he’s on song, he would really bring it on and make Pirates win. 

“You have Rele [Mofokeng] but now, Tito’s out, Saleng has been out. So, all the pressure goes to Rele and Mabasa for them to deliver. That’s only one or two players. 

“So, you really need the other players. So I think that really distracted the team a bit, and I was hoping that in the beginning, they would have resolved it early, just before we got to the halfway mark, so that Saleng can get back onto the field," added the former Pirates and Sundowns star.

“And it’s not happening, and the more Pirates win, the more they’ll forget about their star player and start searching for another player. But I think a lesson was learned from them for this season.

“But yeah, as for Saleng, I think it’s just clear, and I’ve said it before, the most important thing is to honour your contract and go play football. Let God deal with the rest and let your agent deal with the rest, while at least you are on the field of play and participating. 

“Because other players also take that as an advantage now to also query certain things behind closed doors to say yeah so and so is not coming to training, but he’s allowed to do this and that," he continued.

"So, that causes a lot of division as well because some players are deemed to be favourites, and that distracts a lot because other players also want to play.”

Saleng started being sidelined at a time when he was on top of his game after reclaiming the form which saw him being a Buccaneers key performer during the 2022/23 season.

This term, he had managed five goals in 12 games across all competitions while making one assist.

With Pirates now in the tough stages of domestic competitions and the Caf Champions League, coach Jose Riveiro could be forced to start utilising Saleng and ease the pressure on other players.

It remains to be seen if Saleng will manage to feature in the Buccaneers' remaining 12 PSL games.

Pirates have also reached the Nedbank Cup semi-finals as well as the Champions League quarter-finals.