Kaizer Chiefs star Khama Billiat has opened up about his recovery journey after being on the sidelines for several months.
After the 2022 FIFA World Cup break, Chiefs experienced a wave of injuries to their squad. They lost the likes of Nkosingiphile Ngcobo, Billiat, Cole Alexander, Phathutshedzo Nange, and Eric Mathoho.
Reeve Frosler and Dillon Solomons, who were also on this list, recently recovered from their respective injuries and have featured in several games since then.
With the exception of the likes of Mathoho, Nange and Alexander, all these players have been vital to Arthur Zwane’s team this season.
At the beginning of the season, Billiat featured in 11 games for Chiefs in all competitions and recorded three assists.
The last game the Zimbabwean featured in was the first Soweto Derby of the season, back in October last year.
According to the forward’s interview with Chiefs, he picked up the injury in training after returning from the December break.
Chiefs’ physiotherapist, David Milner, described Billiat’s injury to Chiefs’ media as a Sportsman Hernia injury. And after weeks of treatment, Milner explained why Khama had to undergo surgery.
CHIEFS’ PHYSIO ON BILLIAT’S INJURY
“The initial treatment of Sportsman Hernia is to treat it conservatively. So we gave him six weeks of conservative treatment to try and settle it down.
“But unfortunately, he did not respond to conservative treatment, so he required surgery,” said Milner.
Milner also revealed the time frame the 31-year-old is expected to be back.
“He is progressing quite nicely. We got him back on the pitch running a little bit. It’s going to be an uncomfortable injury when he starts training and playing.
“It’s going to be niggling for a while. It takes a period of time before it settles downs properly. By 12 weeks, he will be back a hundred percent,” concluded Milner.
Billiat also revealed how his injury rehab has been going since his surgery and what he looks forward to.
KHAMA ON HIS RECOVERY
“The rehab has been going well so far; I have been doing exercises to strengthen the area. And now I have managed to start jogging outside.
“It has been a difficult process because I had to do things that I still feel are straining, but it is part of the process.
“I went past that; I am able to jog, which is a good sign. And I am looking forward to better exercises that can make me join the team,” concluded Khama.
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