Bafana Bafana midfielder Sphephelo Sithole thought his career was over after a serious injury he suffered while playing for the senior national team last year.
The 26-year-old suffered a fracture to his tibia (shinbone) and fibula (calf bone) playing against South Sudan during the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
He spent the rest of his loan spell at Gil Vicente in Portugal last season on the sidelines. But he has since returned to full fitness at his parent club, Tondela, and is excited to be back in the SA national team.
“I would like to thank God for the opportunity he gave me to play football again,” Sithole told Safa media. “With the injury that I got, I thought maybe it was the end of my career.
“But fortunately, I’m here again, and I’m back with the team. It is good to be back because I can see the team spirit is very high. The guys were doing well when I was away. I was always watching them playing games, so I’m very proud to be back again.”
Reflecting on his recovery process, Sithole admitted the mental challenge was tough.
“It was tough mentally because if you are injured, you can’t do anything. You can’t help the team. You can’t do much, you can’t help with anything; all you can do is to support the guys and be with them [in spirit].
“The only thing you can do is communicate with them on WhatsApp; so that’s what I did. I supported them while I was away from home, and I’m just happy they did well.”
Sithole wants to help Bafana qualify for the Fifa World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico next year.
Bafana will play against Zimbabwe at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Friday and against Rwanda at Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday. Both matches start at 6pm. They will need to win both to keep their chances of qualifying alive.
“We had a meeting among ourselves; and we know the Zimbabwe game is do or die,” Sithole said. “We have to win it if we want to go to the World Cup. Everyone is prepared and knows that we must win, regardless of the circumstances. We also want to make the country proud. We haven’t qualified for a World Cup in 24 years, so it is a big opportunity for us.”
Sowetan
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