Leopards offers update on Tiklas Thutlwa situation

Motsepe Foundation Championship side Black Leopards have offered an update on the condition of their top striker Tiklas Thutlwa.

Thutlwa caused panic when he collapsed during the league match against Casric Stars at Malamulele on Saturday.

The incident took place in the fifth minute of the match, which resulted in it being temporarily stopped to allow emergency personnel to take control of the situation.

Thutlwa, who was reported to be a Kaizer Chiefs target last season, regained his breath later on but couldn’t carry on playing.

The match ended in a 1-1 draw. This a crucial point for Leopards, who are in a relegation battle, and Casric, who are fighting for promotion. 

WHAT HAPPENED TO TIKLAS THUTLWA

FARPost has now gathered that the 2021/22 Motsepe Foundation’s top goal scorer was hit by the ball in the chest. He subsequently struggled to breathe. 

“What happened is that he got winded. The ball hit him full on his chest, so he collapsed,” head coach Owen Da Gama explained to FARPost. 

“He was hit right in the middle of his chest, so he will obviously go for an ECG [electrocardiogram test] to be checked out properly and make sure he is fine.

“He is fine now, and he was there during the duration of the match. There was no need for him to go to the hospital. The boy got his wind back, but that was very early in the game, so we had to take him out,” added Da Gama.

“But we still managed to take a lead, but we made a mistake in the midfield, and they capitalised on that. Thutlwa is our main striker, so that was a big blow early in the game.”

BLACK LEOPARDS RELEGATION BATTLE CONTINUES

The result also meant that Leopards remained rooted at the bottom of the log. They have six matches to try to save their Motsepe Foundation Championship status. They will face Baroka in their next match on Sunday, 2 April.

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