The Siya crew can confirm that Rulani Mokwena is not with the Orlando Pirates squad in Mbombela, though the reason for his absence has not been confirmed.
In their announcement of Josef Zinnbauer as the club's new coach on Tuesday, Pirates confirmed that Mokwena would continue as interim coach until the German mentor's work permit is granted.
It was further confirmed by the club that Mokwena would return to his position as assistant coach, alongside former Maritzburg United coach Fadlu Davids.
However, indications from sources in the know are that Mokwena is not in camp with the team, and questions are being raised about his future with the Soweto giants.
Mokwena had initially travelled with the team on Monday for the week-long long camp in preparation of the last match of the year against Black Leopards. Subsequently, the Siya crew reported that Zinnbauer joined the Pirates camp last night and was introduced to the players following his unveiling by the club earlier in the day.
According to sources, Mokwena had already left the camp by the time the new head coach arrived and introduced to the team.
As per the club's confirmation that Mokwena might be in charge until the new coach gets his work permit granted, it would be expected that the former Mamelodi Sundowns assistant coach will reunite with the team later on.
Last month, Mokwena did get some time off after the team's 3-2 loss to Kaizer Chiefs in the Soweto Derby to attend to some personal issues, before returning for the 3-2 win Polokwane City.
Attempts have been made to get a comment from Pirates on the latest developments, however, no official comment had been received at the time of publishing.
