Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates striker Zakhele Lepasa says the injury he suffered in December 2020 has in a way “changed me” but he’s happy to have recaptured his form.
Lepasa was having a great start at Pirates in the 2020/21 season, helping them win the MTN8 trophy when they beat Bloemfontein Celtic in Durban.
He scored in the 3-0 win over Chiefs in the first leg semi final of the Wafa Wafa Cup at Orlando Stadium in front of the empty stands.
After Pirates had won the Wafa Wafa Cup, the next match was against Chippa United at Orlando Stadium on 16 December.
Lepasa was challenging the ball and then picked up an ankle injury and was taken off in just five minutes into the game. He missed close to 50 games for Pirates, with his return being the match against AmaZulu last year in December at Orlando Stadium.
The Snake Park-born’s injury saw him miss the 2020 delayed Olympic Games last year, and national team under-23s coach David Notoane had full trust in him to help with the burden of goals.
It was evident in the tournament as the young Mzansi side could not win a single group stage match.
“In terms of the injury, yes I was doing well, progressing well. But also when I got injured, I came back,” Lepasa said at the Bafana press conference on Saturday.
“There are certain things that have changed me and how conscious I was of everything that I do now.
“I might say what if I did not get injured maybe I would have progressed even better. But if I continued like that maybe I would have ended up not being here (with the Bafana squad).”
Lepasa has bounced back stronger from that injury and again helped Pirates this season to win another MTN8 trophy a few weeks ago against AmaZulu.
He’s part of the Bafana side that is set to face Angola in a friendly match at Mbombela Stadium today (3pm).
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He was also part of the Bafana side that beat Sierra Leone and Botswana respectively in September and has so far accumulated six caps without a goal to his name.
“At the moment, I’m in a happy space, I’m doing well, I’m in the national team,” added Lepasa, who initiated the move for the second goal scored by Bongokuhle Hlongwane as they beat Mozambique 2-1 at the same venue on Thursday.
“I always think I can do better. There’s so much that is required of me, especially as a striker.
“But I’m also happy with the little progress that I have made. I can only work on developing from here and not look at ‘I was injured, what could have happened’. I’m happy to be where I’m right now.”
