Legendary midfielder Andile Jali's return to football at the Orlando Stadium had a fair share of mixed feelings.
The former Mamelodi Sundowns player was among the players fired by Moroka Swallows in January. He ended up being clubless for the remainder of the season before Chippa United gave him a chance.
On Wednesday, he scored a stunner against Orlando Pirates after just 21 minutes to underline his quality.
However, the 34-year-old was subbed after the first half and the Chilli Boys went on to lose the game 2-1.
Why was Jali subbed against the Buccaneers?
Chippa United head coach Kwanele Kopo has now revealed the veteran midfielder was not fit enough to start the game. However, he opted to risk him owing to what he was going to bring into the match.
“Andile had a problem with his hamstring, tt was really a gamble to start him. He hasn’t trained for three days this week,” he said after the fixture.
“But we needed someone of his character, of his experience and technical ability. I think once we lost him at halftime, the adjustment to create the block, we completely lost it.”
The tactician now hopes Jali will recover and heal in time to play a few minutes this weekend against Richards Bay in the Premier Soccer League outing.
As for Orlando Pirates, on Saturday they will host Jwaneng Galaxy in the second leg of the Caf Champions League's second preliminary round. The first one ended 2-0 in favour of the Soweto giants.
