Phakamani Mahlambi Is Still Recovering For Bidvest Wits
Phakamani Mahlambi
It looked as though 2016 was going to be Phakamani Mahlambi's year as 2015 drew to a close for the teenager, however, a nightmare injury stopped him in his tracks. Read: Why Mahlambi Took His Brother's Hamstring Two goals in November 2015 and one in January seemed to confirm to the South African public that Bidvest Wits' teen sensation was one to watch for the future. He was all set for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and had big clubs all over Europe keeping close tabs on him. Yet as 2016 draws to a close, the 19-year-old is still waiting for his first game since February, and there are suggestions that he is still a while away from making his return to Gavin Hunt's first team following a knee operation earlier this year. The Clever Boys find themselves sitting pretty on top of the Absa Premiership table at present, and Hunt has already stressed that having the starlet back fit again will be like a new signing for him. After nearly exactly nine months out, Mahlambi is progressing slowly with his rehabilitation, but is focused on making sure that he puts his brother's hamstring to good use after his sibling donated it to help preserve his lightning pace. The Siya crew spoke to Bidvest Wits' assistant coach, Paul Johnstone, who explained the winger's current situation, saying, "He's doing well, progressing slowly and steadily, as we want him to. Obviously he's a young boy so we can't push him into moving too quickly. "His body has to respond to the operation properly and there is a healing process he needs to rightly go through before he can play again. The specialist has been happy with his progress so far, and obviously we take our lead from him. "Phaka is still doing his conditioning to work on his fitness. He's very much gym based in order to gain strength back and rehab the knee, but he has been involved in controlled training drills and is doing well, as we expect." It remains to be seen how long it will be until South African fans see the dynamic teenager back on the field, however – like the player himself – they will be hoping that it is sooner rather than later.
