Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer’s son reportedly fighting for his life in a German hospital

Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer's son Fabio is reportedly fighting for his life in a German hospital and is in a coma after a horrific accident that happened on Münchener Strasse in Nuremberg on October 23.

German publication Bild published the pictures of a wrecked black Skoda Octavia station wagon under a truck. The accident is believed to have left the 24-year-old Fabio in critical condition.

In its story‚ Bild said: “It is the son of Joe Zinnbauer (50). The ex-HSV coach (now in South Africa with Orlando Pirates) is very worried about Fabio. Fabio is seriously injured and is in a coma. The police are investigating. How it came to the horror crash at 1pm has not yet been clarified.”

Zinnbauer was in charge of Pirates’ impressive 3-0 win over Kaizer Chiefs in an MTN8 semi-final first leg on Saturday but left immediately after that match to be with his son.

Pirates' statement at the weekend read: “OrlandoPiratesFC.com can confirm that the club has granted the head coach leave to go home to Germany. Unfortunately‚ out of respect for Mr Zinnbauer and his family‚ we cannot divulge anything more except to say that his son is in hospital. The coach has requested for his family’s privacy to be respected during this difficult time. He will be back soon.”

Asked about his departure‚ Zinnbauer said: “Please understand that it's family and very‚ very close to me and the family. We will speak about it in the official [way] next. Sorry‚ I hope you understand it.”

The 50-year-old Zinnbauer arrived at Pirates in December 2019 to replace Milutin "Micho" Sredojevic and helped the Buccaneers to a third-place finish on the log after champions Mamelodi Sundowns and runners-up Kaizer Chiefs.