The former Bloemfontein Celtic player is pleased to be slowly getting back to his fitness but he admits he’s not yet at the level required to return
Mamelodi Sundowns wing-back Thapelo Morena has spoken about his road to recovery as he nears a return to full fitness.
Morena suffered a broken ankle four months ago and has been working hard behind the scenes to regain his fitness before the resumption of the season.
“My foot is not 100 per cent. I push myself to a certain limit with team exercises and those that I feel my foot can’t take yet I then do other activities such as cycling, strengthening and mobility,” Morena told the Sundowns website.
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“With the moon-boot, the exercises are limited and therefore I only had to do those that will not pose a threat to my foot. With that being said, the strong mentality that I can overcome this is what kept me going as well as eating healthy and [living] positive lifestyle.”
Morena removed the protective boot a month ago, and he’s pleased with the progress he has made under a physical trainer allocated to him by the Brazilians.
He revealed that he could see himself back on the pitch as soon as the protective boot was removed while admitting it wasn’t easy dealing with this injury setback.
“Without the moon-boot, I keep focused by reminding myself of the end goal; where I do want to see myself by the time the league resumes,” continued Morena.
“The team allocated me a physical trainer [Thato] and he has been very helpful and motivating. He helps me a lot with my rehabilitation progress and exercises.
“It felt inspirational. I could see myself back on the pitch. From that day my whole mentality changed because I saw the possibility of everything again.
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“My injury was not easy even dealing with it wasn’t easy. So, every milestone is worth a celebration.”
The 25-year-old further spoke about how the current lockdown has affected almost every player in the PSL, but he’s pleased that teams have now been given the green-light to return to training after three months of inactivity due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“You never know how joyful and important something really is until you lose the sight of it. Boredom is taking a strain on us but with football around, we know things will change for the better. I can’t wait to give Mzansi that joy again,” concluded Morena.
