Mamelodi Sundowns winger Gaston Sirino has broken his silence following his return to the starting XI after being close to leaving the club and even frozen out of team training for a while.
Sirino , 32, returned to the match-day squad against TS Galaxy in the Carling Knockout Cup for the first time this season.
He made a huge impact in the game after he came from the bench to score Sundowns’ equaliser in the last minute of injury-time and send the game to extra-time. He also converted his spot-kick in the penalty shootout but his side still lost 5-4 to The Rockets.
Sirino has continued where he left off against Petro de Luanda in the African Football League quarter-final first leg, coming off the bench to assist the second goal scored by Thapelo Maseko.
On Tuesday, the 32-year-old returned to the starting XI for the first time since he was out of the squad after handing in a transfer request in the recent transfer window.
“Im very happy to be back and wearing this shirt with pride. I went through a bit of a difficult time but that is over now,” Sirino told Sundowns media.
“I hope we can still get the remaining titles for the club. Today’s game was difficult because we were left with 10-man in just two minutes. We had to double our efforts. We did it and I’m proud.
“As difficult as it was we had to grind together. We were playing at home and we had to win, unfortunately it was not possible. We still have a good game. Even though we were one man short.
“I’m happy with the support though it’s been a while since I played and to return to this honestly makes me very happy. We continue there’s still a lot to fight for.”
Overall, Sirino has made 179 appearances since joining the club from Bolivar in 2018.
