Molangoane recalls horrendous injury that nearly ended his career at Chiefs
Former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Joseph Molangoane has spoken openly about a terrifying injury he suffered during his time with the Soweto giants.
The ex-Amakhosi midfielder, Molangoane, had to be stretchered off in tears after he broke his leg during the MTN8 quarter-final clash against Free State Stars on Saturday, 11 August 2018. The injury threatened to cut his career short.
This came after Molangoane went for a sliding challenge on the now Orlando Pirates midfielder Makhehleni Makhaula. Unfortunately, Makhaula’s foot landed on the former Amakhosi man’s right ankle, as he was trying to clear the ball in the 50th minute of the showdown.
Chiefs went on to win the game with a 3-0 scoreline against Ea Lla Koto at FNB Stadium that night.
After the game, Chiefs medical team confirmed that Molangoane’s leg was broken in two places, and the player had to undergo an operation, which was a huge blow to his team.
In a joint statement, Free State Stars and Makhaula issued a statement expressing their remorse for the dangerous tackle.
JOSEPH MOLANGOANE ON CAREER-THREATENING INJURY
An interview with FARPost recently, Molangoane noted that he holds no grudge on what happened that day, as football is a contact sport and that could have happened to anyone.
“You know, every journey has its ups and downs. So, when I got injured, I was like, okay, it has happened to me; who else would I expect it to happen to?
“After all, football is a contact sport because that could have happened to anyone.
“I accepted what happened, and I had to move on and accept this is the situation that I’m in, and I need to deal with it going forward,” Molangoane told this publication.
The injury took seven months for Molangoane to recover and continue playing the beautiful game.
DOCTORS GAVE MOLANGOANE THE GREEN LIGHT TO CONTINUE PLAYING
The 36-year-old footballer went on to state that the doctors gave him the green light to continue playing football if he would love to do so after he recovers which he did.
“The doctors are the ones who gave me options, saying that if you still want to play football, you can still continue with it,” he added.
“And I continued playing football. I went to the Nedbank Cup final and I won it with TTM, and I went to the next final with Marumo Gallants which we lost. I went on to play CAF Confederation Cup where we ended in the semi-finals.
“So, the doctors were right saying I can still play even. Even now, I’m still playing football.”
Molangoane is currently turning out for Limpopo ABC Motsepe League side Sunrise FC where he serves as a player/coach.
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