South African football fans tuned into the Championship playoff final on Monday hoping to watch Bafana Bafana star Kagisho Dikgacoi in action.
It was a do-or-die showdown between Crystal Palace and Watford, and to the winner would go the £120 million spoils of promotion to the English Premier League.
Palace won, and KG will be in the English top-flight next season, where he played briefly for Fulham after moving from Golden Arrows.
But while we rejoiced for the 28-year-old midfielder from the Free State, our celebrations were bittersweet, because he had hardly featured in his team’s big win at Wembley.
Midway through the first-half, KG was forced off the field with an injury, and had to watch the rest of the nail-biting affair from the dugout.
He has now revealed that a pre-game calf niggle was compounded during the match, and that while he was disappointed not stay on the field the injury is not too serious, and he’ll be back with a bang next season.
“I had a slight strain on my calf during the week and then it snapped today during the game,” Dikgacoi explained, according to London24.
“I was disappointed but I had confidence that the guys would win it even without me or without anyone else because we’ve got a good bunch of players around the team.
“It was frustrating. I was really, really looking forward to playing here and finishing the game.
“But I don’t think it’s serious. I am going to have a scan tomorrow to see the condition of the injury. Hopefully it’s not bad.
“I’ll definitely be fit for next season, I’m hoping so.”