A ditched AmaZulu forward has explained how his former coach at the club Benni McCarthy paid for his rehabilitation.
Augustine Mulenga has claimed that his rehabilitation was not handled professionally at Usuthu as the club forced him to push himself so that he could make a timely return as the KwaZulu-Natal outfit was struggling for results.
This subsequently, aggrieved Mulenga's injury, and in order for the Zambian hitman to recover he had to undergo rehabilitation, which he deemed as "not professional" with McCarthy helping out financially throughout the process.
"The first game we played against Cape Town City (in the MTN8), I got injured. Someone fell on my ankle. I stayed (out) for two months and the rehab was not that professional for me to get better the way I was supposed to be," said Mulenga in an interview in the latest issue 1277 of Soccer Laduma.
"Even the time I started training with the guys, I was just forcing myself because the team was not doing so well. Every time when I went to training to see the physio, they used to say, 'You must come back, the team is not doing well.' They told me to push myself so that I could be back on the field.
"I had to sacrifice myself… the tendon rupture happened (in March) and then now at the end they did not want to renew. If they told me six months before that they won't renew my contract, by now I could have made a plan.
"There was a time when we as players were in a meeting with the president, Mr (Sandile) Zungu. He told me himself that they'd renew my contract and said that he'd talk to my agent. So, I was surprised when they told me that they are not renewing. That's why I feel they've betrayed me. They could have been honest with me instead of what they did.
Mulenga added: "The rehab was not 100% the way I was supposed to get it because my injury was bad that time. I stayed (out) for, like, two months and two weeks. If I can remember, the team was saying they'd help me, but we had one physio at the club. He can't manage to see me and see these other guys.
"I remember coach Benni is the one who even took me to see someone else there in Durban who has a private (practice). Coach Benni took his own money to pay for my rehab, for me to be back on the field. He's the one who helped me," added Mulenga.
In this week's edition of Soccer Laduma, Mulenga opens up on:
- Regret on not considering offers in January
- Feeling betrayed by AmaZulu
- Benni paying for his rehabilitation
Get the latest edition of Soccer Laduma, edition 1277, available in stores now!
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