With the Soweto Derby approaching faster than a mashonisa on payday, Orlando Pirates' new kid on the block could get a baptism of fire in the Nedbank Cup, with the club facing an injury crisis.
Pirates have been blighted by injuries in defence this season, especially at right-back, where Thabiso Lebitso and Thabiso Monyane at some point joined Bandile Shandu on the treatment table.
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Deano Van Rooyen's arrival placated the situation and the team got a boost after Lebitso returned from injury and started against Al Ahly last weekend in their final CAF Champions League group game.
However, the latter got injured again, as youngster Siyabonga Ndlozi was given his debut 11 minutes into the second half of that match.
Neither Van Rooyen nor Monyane were in the squad, out nursing injuries (while Shandu is yet to feature this season with a long-term injury), and there is a possibility they may not be risked in the Nedbank Cup Last 32 clash against Richards Bay FC on Sunday.
The big Soweto derby against Kaizer Chiefs comes up a week later.
Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro has issued an assessment on Ndlozi.
"He's ready. I'm playing players who are good enough and are ready to play, so what is the risk?" Riveiro said to journalists in the Nedbank Cup pre-match press conference in Sandton on Thursday.
"And if its not working one day, it doesn't mean he's not good enough or ready. It's just that he couldn't manage on the day.
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"But we're not playing catch-up there on the bench, we're not gambling. When someone is in the 20 (matchday squad), it means he's ready to go. We're not travelling to Cairo and we see people on the road and say: 'Okay, come with us, let's see'. You understand?
"That's why I'm saying [it] is not a risk, it's a calculated risk. There's always a risk that when you take someone to the starting XI he's not performing, for whatever reason. The players who are playing for Pirates are good enough and they are ready," the Spaniard emphasised.