Makusu has remained out of action for a while and Orlando Pirates boss Josef Zinnbauer has explained the reason for the continued absence of the star striker.
The 29-year-old joined Pirates in a loan move from Linafoot giants AS Vita in the summer window and arrived at the club with so much fanfare as one of the most prolific forwards on the continent.
However, it hasn’t gone according to plan and Makusu has not featured as many would have hoped. The Congolese forward has been limited to just 213 minutes of game-time across all competitions so far. To go with, has only recorded one goal so far and that came in the CAF Confederations Cup when he came on as a substitute in the 3-0 win against Jwaneng Galaxy.
“Before he went to Enyimba, a week before, I think he was injured now he came back last week in the training session but now it’s for us, we know the players Gaba and Mabasa, these players were ready and in the structure and you know we don’t have many training sessions so it’s not easy for him to show us or signal he is ready,” Zinnbauer said.
“But he’s been training for a week or so and we need to watch what happens in the next step but you see now both strikers scored today and we can’t have five or six strikers on the bench – now we have two.
“Hotto also at this moment is a striker or an offensive player and then it’s not so easy for him to come into the next game. But he works very good, he tried but at the moment we have to focus on the players who are a step ahead.”
The ex-Standard Liège man boasts an exceptional record of 19 goals in 27 CAF inter-club competition appearances.
The absence of Makusu would have come as a blow for Zinnbauer and company for obvious reasons. However, other players have stepped up in the process, meaning the player hasn’t been missed badly.
But three games without a win means Pirates need a new source of inspiration and Makusu could serve as that. His potential return could also be very timely, with a crunch CAF Confederation Cup clash against Raja Casablanca just around the corner. However, that game may come too soon for the 29-year-old to feature.