"You never know how joyful and important something really is until you lose the sight of it," Mamelodi Sundowns' Thapelo Morena says as teams now prepare to return to training this coming week.
The 26-year-old has made great progress after a horrific ankle injury, which, prior to the COVID-19 lockdown, saw him ruled out for the rest of the 2019/20.
However, the journey to fitness for Morena has been challenging, although he's learnt valuable lessons through it all.
"My foot is not 100 percent, I push myself to a certain limit with team exercises and those that I feel my foot can't take yet I then do other activities such as cycling, strengthening and mobility," he says, referring to the online training with the rest of the squad," Morena explained.
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"With the moonboot the exercises are limited and therefore I only had to do those that will not pose a threat to my foot. With that being said, my strong mentality that I can overcome this is what kept me going as well as eating healthy and positive lifestyle."
"Without the moonboot I keep focused by reminding myself of the end goal, where do I want to see myself by the time the league resumes. The team allocated me a physical trainer and he has been very helpful and motivating. He helps me a lot with my rehabilitation progress and exercises," he elaborates."
"It felt inspirational, I could see myself back on the pitch. From that day my whole mentality changed because I saw the possibility of everything again. My injury was not easy even dealing with it wasn't easy, so every milestone is worth a celebration."
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"Boredom is taking a strain on us but with football around, we know things will change for the better. Can't wait to give Mzansi that joy again," he said.
A date for the resumption of the 2019/20 season is yet to be set and should Morena continue on his recovery, he could soon be back in action for Sundowns, as continue on their chase for La Decima.
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