Sekhukhune United captain Linda Mntambo has credited Orlando Pirates striker Zakhele Lepasa for his return to the pitch after a horror injury.
Mntambo returned from a long term injury in the second half of the current season, playing six matches in all competitions and scoring two goals.
Before this, Mntambo had been out since October 2022 and Figo, as the midfielder is affectionately known, has now revaled that among the people who played a role in his recovery is his best friend Lepasa.
“One best friend of mine Zakhele Lepasa keeps pushing me,” said Mntambo.
“Off the field we work so hard together and I’d also like to congratulate him and just give him applause for pushing me because he had a similar injury at Pirates, an ankle reconstruction.
“So he is the person that I’d go to and say ‘bro, I’m feeling pain, do you think it’s a good thing or not’. So he is the one who kept me going and I’m really grateful to have him in life.”
Mntambo further explained that having other interests outside of football also helped with the frustrations and during that period.
“For me I think it’s always important to have other things that you do,” he added.
“You know a lot of soccer players would play PlayStation, you know they would get home and play TV games and that’s not what I like.
“I think one escape for me was fashion. I got to do a lot of shoots. I got to be on the run way you know at the Soweto Fashion Week.
“So maybe those were the things that helped ease down the frustrations because when you don’t have anything to do except football then it becomes tough.”