Cape Town - Orlando Pirates coach Eric Tinkler has revealed that captain Oupa Manyisa will return from his ankle injury in April.
Manyisa has been sidelined since September after suffering the injury blow against Polokwane City.
Tinkler concedes it's likely his influential skipper may miss the remainder of the season, which ends in May.
"Oupa is doing quite a lot of gym work now - strength work and he has been doing a lot of biometric work on the field," Tinkler told KickOff.
"He has made a lot of progress definitely, but he has got a way to go. I think realistically end of March/April.
"He is working very hard and he is at training every day and we all want to see him back on the field as soon as possible. But we need to worry about their careers first and not wanting to rush them back.
"We know how important they are as squad members, but there is the future and Oupa is not different."
Tinkler also confirmed the return of Lehlohonolo Majoro from a fever, Happy Jele is also back after a groin injury and Menzi Masuku has also returned from an ankle problem.