That's exactly why Sakura's considered useless. Kishi waits until they're considered non-functioning fodder and then once they display any technique of merit, bamf! They still managed to get underrated and overlooked and somehow still seem unimpressive. He's missed the window of opportunity to prove that Hiruzen can be anything other than 3rd strongest Hokage, and that's a stretch at this point. He really can't balance characters that well.
Of course, if Orochimaru alters his body to allow him to fight in his prime state, then that's a different ball game altogether.