He has played just 44 minutes for the entire season - but Sammy Seabi is relishing the rare opportunity to get more game time at Mamelodi Sundowns.
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As things stand, only teenage duo Siyanda Nyanga and Kutlwano Letlhaku have played less minutes than Seabi this season, with the 29-year-old making his first appearance of the calendar year in a 1-0 win over Richards Bay this week.
Seabi's last appearance before that was a 20-minute cameo against Cape Town Spurs in December last year.
Sundowns' grueling schedule could see them make a host of changes, particularly in the DStv Premiership, which could be an opportunity for peripheral figures like Seabi to feature more regularly in the latter stages of the campaign.
Speaking to the club's media department after the game, Seabi expressed his gratitude on returning to the field of play.
"I would like to thank the technical team for believing in me and giving me the opportunity. But foremost the teammates. You know, they welcomed me today. I felt like I have been playing for so long, so it feels good to be back in the team, to help the team to achieve the goal.
"I was just assessing, checking if ever when I get the opportunity, what can I do? Where can I anticipate? You know that if they stay low block, maybe if ever we rotate the ball quicker and we have more numbers in the middle, maybe we can overpower them.
"I'm happy with the performance, but I can do more. There's still a long journey, but slowly, surely I'll get there. I believe as Mamelodi Sundowns, we always have to win. We must win without excuses. We just have to win. So I believe it's one of those greatest victories that we got today. It wasn't easy, but as I said, it looked like it was coming. But everything has its own, right timing. So I believe putting too much pressure on them has helped us," he continued.
