The Buccaneers won their six consecutive Betway Premiership match without conceding in the convincing defeat of the Rockets at the Orlando Amstel Arena.
However, Bafana Bafana star Mbatha was a notable absentee from the squad despite having featured prominently in the recent 2-0 MTN8 final loss to Mamelodi Sundowns.
"Yes, about Mbatha, you know, when he came back from the national team, he had surgery," said Ouaddou to reporters after the match.
"We did everything to bring him back in terms of rehabilitation. I think it was a surprise to see him in the MTN8 final. I was so amazed by his performance in the final.
"It has been a long time that I didn't see such a quality of Mbatha, high level."
Mbatha made only his third appearance of the 2026/27 campaign in the final against Masandawana after recovering from a knee injury that also prevented his call-up to the national team for the 2027 African Cup of Nations qualifiers.
"So, we don't want to take a risk with Mbatha," added the Moroccan mentor.
"He is an important player for us. So, we played two days ago, and we don’t want to take any risk with him."
The midfielder is likely to feature when AmaBhakaniya travel to face African Stars from Namibia in their CAF Champions League second qualifying round at the Botswana National Stadium in Gabarone this Saturday.
