My Road To Recovery – Thapelo Morena

Thapelo Morena is well on his way to a full recovery, a sight welcomed by the technical team after the utility player’s injury in the Tshwane derby four months ago.

With Mamelodi Sundowns leading SuperSport United 1-0 in the opening round of the Nedbank Cup, a nasty incident forced Morena off the pitch.

After surgery on his ankle and the rehab that followed, Morena has now spoken about his road to returning to the field again.

“My foot is not 100 percent, I push myself to a certain limit with team exercises and those that I feel my foot can’t take yet I then do other activities such as cycling,  strengthening and mobility,” he says, referring to the online training with the rest of the squad.

“With the moonboot the exercises are limited and therefore I only had to do those that will not pose a threat to my foot. With that being said, my strong mentality that I can overcome this is what kept me going as well as eating healthy and positive lifestyle.”

Morena has since removed the protective boot, allowing him to increase the intensity a little more – squats, speed drills and some on the ball training.

“Without the moonboot I keep focused by reminding myself of the end goal, where do I want to see myself by the time the league resumes. The team allocated me a physical trainer (Thato) and he has been very helpful and motivating. He helps me a lot with my rehabilitation progress and exercises,” he elaborates.

“It felt inspirational, I could see myself back on the pitch. From that day my whole mentality changed because I saw the possibility of everything again. My injury was not easy even dealing with it wasn’t easy, so every milestone is worth a celebration.”

With the green light from the Premier Soccer League, clubs are expected to resume training soon and for Morena, that’s another milestone.

“You never know how joyful and important something really is until you lose the sight of it. Boredom is taking a strain on us but with football around, we know things will change for the better. Can’t wait to give Mzansi that joy again,” says the speedster.