Recovering Kenyan defender Brian Mandela training with Orlando Pirates
Harambee Stars defender Brian Mandela has embarked on a journey to full recovery after suffering a career-threatening injury in June.
Soccer Laduma reports that Mandela has been training with Orlando Pirates for the past week.
It is not clear whether the 25-year-old will be offered a contract at the top South African club, but he appears to have a chance as this development unites him with Pirates’ assistant coach, Fadlu Davids, with whom he worked at Maritzburg United.
Mandela is currently a free agent after he was released by Maritzburg United at the end of last season.
Considered one of the best defenders in Kenyan football at the moment, Mandela damaged his cruciate ligaments while on a training camp with the national team in France.
He had been selected by then Harambee Stars coach Sebastian Migne to feature in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, which were held in Egypt, but he missed out due to the injury.
Mandela has previously turned out for Kenya’s Tusker and South Africa’s Sanlam Santos in the past.