Riveiro cagey about Lorch's Orlando Pirates absence

Following their 2-0 defeat to the Brazilians at Loftus Stadium on Friday afternoon, the Spanish-born mentor was asked by the media for an extensive report on the one-time Premier Soccer League Footballer of the Year. 

“No, I don’t speak about injured players or individual players,” Riveiro said, arguing this was the stance he has taken since arriving at the club in July. 

Pirates’ earlier statement said Lorch was “on track to rejoin his teammates for most of the second half of the season”, having put his return date as “end of January” – this for a player that last featured four months ago. 

Naturally, there has also been speculation over his future and Riveiro’s unwillingness to even comment on the Bafana Bafana international’s contribution – when he is available – will add fuel to that fire. 

“It’s not my role to talk about the players who are not available. How can we measure that? Is there any tool to measure how much someone’s absence affects the team? I cannot answer that question,” added the coach. 

The Buccaneers have four league games next month against Cape Town City, Golden Arrows, Stellenbosch FC and Marumo Gallants – fixtures that Lorch is still expected to miss, but Riveiro insists he has enough squad depth.