Banyana Banyana winger Gabriela Salgado has suffered a fractured leg in their defeat to Nigeria but has already undergone a successful operation.
Salgado had to be stretchered off in the 87th minute of their 2-1 defeat to the Super Falcons in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations semi-final.
The seriousness of the injury left several of Salgado’s teammates in tears and distress, with head coach Desiree Ellis stating her players hadn’t recover from the shock when they conceded the second goal in injury-time.
Amid question marks over the seriousness of the injury, the South African Football Association have now confirmed the broken leg but also stated, Salgado has already undergone surgery.
“Gabi sustained a fracture of the mid-shaft of her left leg during the fixture against Nigeria and underwent a successful surgery at the Mohamed VI University Hospital in Casablanca,” said Banyana Banyana team doctor, Dr Lindi Mokoena, as per SAFA.
“She will be out of action for the rest of the year, but we are pleased that she received exceptional care from the medical team of Banyana Banyana, CAF and the hospital.
“We were fully confident and comfortable with the procedure being performed in Morocco and would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to CAF and the dedicated staff at the Mohamed VI University Hospital for their professionalism and outstanding support during this time.”
SAFA also confirmed that Salgado will remain in hospital while she recuperates and will stay with the team upon release. She will fly back home with Banyana Banyana next week.
All Banyana Banyana players visited Salgado at the hospital on Tuesday night after she had been stabilised following the injury.
Banyana will play Ghana in the third-place playoff for the bronze medal on Friday.
Did you know that the iDiski Times Digital Newspaper is completely free! Download it now by clicking the button below or fill in the form to have it sent to you every week.
