‘All I hear is a gunshot’: Morgan Gould reflects on challenging moment
Former Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana Bafana defender Morgan Gould has reflected on a challenging period at the start of his Amakhosi career.
Gould joined the Soweto giants from SuperSport United in June 2012 on a four-year deal. He became a mainstay in the club’s defence, helping them win two league titles in 2012/13 and 2014/15. However, he recalls the difficult beginnings of his tenure.
In a conversation with his former teammate, Michael Morton, on the latter’s podcast, the ex-Bafana Bafana defender discussed his injury history.
WHAT WAS MORGAN’S CHALLENGING MOMENT
“When I was still at [Jomo] Cosmos, I had an ACL and listen, you’re playing for Cosmos firstly. Secondly, there’s no physio,” he said.
“There’s no….. I wouldn’t say there wasn’t a doctor. There was a doctor who was assigned to the team, but he wasn’t there for the team. He was there on match day only. So that alone gave me a shock of my life that I needed to treat myself. I needed to go to rehab, make sure I can firstly start walking and then afterwards.”
He also spoke about the Achilles tendon rupture that sidelined him for several months. “But with the Achilles, it came to me … I had just moved to Chiefs. Everyone was amped around me. The buzz was around me. And on matchday -1 before a [Mamelodi] Sundowns game at Orlando Stadium, we were having our warm-up, we played a rondo.
“As we were about to do the active warm-up, all I hear is a gunshot. It snapped. I looked around to see [what was happening]. We’re in the stadium, we’re not anywhere where people were rioting, in a mall or like a freak accident. And the next minute, I was on the floor. I tried to stand up, all the gingerness and all the ligaments gone.”
GOULD ON THE IMPACT OF INJURIES FOR FOOTBALLERS
He added, “For you as the person going through it, it’s even louder… I was still so shocked. The physio came and said, ’Sit down’.” The 41-year-old revealed that he was a complete rupture, not just a partial tear.
“You’ll never be the same again,” he explained. “You lose 10% of your speed and bulk up because you’re no longer training. You’re just sitting, trying to eat right… If you’re going to get stronger, you gonna get big. The things that go into your head, firstly, am I going to be able to walk? That was my priority; I didn’t really care about the football.”
Gould, who also played for Stellenbosch FC and Sekhukhune United, believes educating footballers about various types of injuries is crucial. He observed that players often learn about injuries firsthand as they encounter them rather than through proactive education.
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