Bafana suffer injury setback
Midfielder, May Mahlangu, is facing a long lay-off after injuring his Achilles tendon at his club’s training session on Sunday, 21 July 2013.
The Sweden-based industrious midfielder will undergo an operation on Wednesday, 24 July and is expected to be out of action for up to four months. With 15 matches to go before the end of the Swedish season, the injury might spell the end of the campaign for the Helsingborg linkman.
What it also means for national coach Gordon Igesund is that Mahlangu will not be available for selection for Bafana Bafana for the Nelson Mandela Challenge clash against Nigeria (Wednesday, 14 August) in Durban.
He will also miss the Nelson Mandela Sports and Culture Day encounter against Burkina Faso (Saturday, 17 August) at the FNB Stadium as well as the crucial Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Botswana in September.
“For me it is always terrible when a Bafana Bafana player gets injured and is not available for selection. I wish him a speedy recovery and hope he is back in action soon,” said Bafana Bafana head coach Gordon Igesund.
Mahlangu is sad that he will not take part in Bafana’s upcoming matches.
“It is always an honour for any player to play for their country, and the same goes for me. I would have loved to be there to represent my country but circumstances alter cases. I have great confidence, however, that whoever is selected will do a good job,” said Mahlangu. “But it will be sad watching from the sidelines knowing you cannot help your teammates, because at the end of the day we all want to see our country do well. The guys have my full support. What is important for me now is to focus on my recovery process.”
The injury comes when the midfielder was on the verge of moving to one of the big leagues, with Turkey, England and France knocking on his door. His current contract with Helsingborg ends in December.
“It’s one of those things. Injuries are part of the game. I just have to be positive and get back on my feet. Yes it is a setback, but it is not the end of the world, I must just take it one day at a time and not rush coming back as it might affect me in the long run,” added Mahlangu.
Mahlangu said the injury was a freak accident and up to now does not comprehend how it happened.
“Just 20 minutes before we finished training, I heard a sound on my leg and thought one of my teammates had kicked me. But when I checked around, no one was close to me yet I was in pain. It only dawned to me moments later that I had torn my Achilles,” concluded Mahlangu.
He will start his rehabilitation in Sweden immediately after the operation and is expected to return home to continue his recovery plan.
Meanwhile, Orlando Pirates have confirmed the signing of Kermit Erasmus.
He joins the Buccaneers from Supersport United.
(File Photo:Gallo Images)
- Safa and Andre Bloem
Twitter - @SportswaveAndre and @ECRSportswave