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MBABANE – Devastating news.
This is the story of Moneni Pirates attacking midfielder Yeki ‘Madumane’ Khumalo, who was so close to playing in Italy. His dream has since been shattered by an unforeseen setback. The exciting player is said to have failed a medical test while doing his assessment in Italy.
The Moneni Pirates youngster left with Nsingizini Hotspurs enterprising forward Mayibongwe ‘Suarez’, Mabuza last month after being spotted by Italian scout Andrea Innocenti, who watched them during the Council of Southern Africa Football Association (COSAFA) Youth Championship hosted in the country last year. The player, together with ‘Suarez’, who is still in Italy, was expected to spend a month at San Marco Sports Events Academy to be assessed after their stellar performances in the COSAFAYouth Championships last year.
A medical test examination is a set of tests focused on the investigation of possible injuries, alterations or organic anomalies. Normally, a cardio-respiratory medical examination, muscle mass, body mass, and so on are done first. So, any player seeking for a transfer will have to prove to potential new employers that he is ready to hit the ground running and will not spend huge amount of time in the treatment room.
According to a close source within the Moneni Pirates camp, Madumane returned on Wednesday after allegedly failing his medical test after having a great game in Pontedera’s development colours in a game they played against the senior team last Friday. “The team initially was impressed with Yeki, who impressed the Pontedera technical
MReturned BABANE – Will it be the MTN Premier League runners-up or MoMo Cup champions representing the country in the 2023/24 TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup?
This is the question many football supporters are asking themselves as we head to the final games of the 2022/23 MTN Premier League season. With five matches remaining before the curtains fall on the Premier League of Eswatini (PLE), it is still undecided as to what criterion they will use to select a team
Moneni Pirates midfielder Yeki ‘Madumane’ Khumalo (L and (INSET)) and Nsingizini Hotspurs striker Mayibongwe ‘Suarez’ Mabuza. The Pirates youngster has returned to the country after allegedly failing his medical test after impressing the Pontedera technical team, a club playing in Italy’s Serie C division.
team and the medical check-up is a standard procedure in football for any player to do before signing on the dotted line. As a team we are shuttered by the news but the positive thing is that he can continue playing in other countries but not in Italy,” alleged the source.
Failed
Madumane, who has had a great season for his team, is not the only player who has ever failed a medical check-up before. Former Malanti Chiefs player Papy Faty is another player who failed a medical test. The Burundian born box-tobox midfielder collapsed and died during a match having defied doctors’orders because of a heart condition during a game between Malanti Chiefs, which was his team playing against Green Mamba during the 2019/20 season.
The midfielder enjoyed his best years playing for Bidvest Wits, but the club released him when the issue with his heart first surfaced. It is believed he then went that will represent the country in the second largest football inter-club tournament after the CAF champions League. Here in Eswatini, only league winners automatically qualify for premier club competition and as it stands, Correctional side Green Mamba are leading the pack with 49 points in 21 games, while army side Young Buffaloes are on second spot with 47 point. Red and white capital city giants Mbabane Swallows are third with 44 points.
The PLE, through Eswatini Football Association (EFA), has been submitting the league’s runners-up as envoys for the TotalEnergies Confederation
on to play in the South African league for Real Kings, but that deal was terminated after he apparently collapsed during a game. The 28-year-old midfielder had ignored doctors, who told him not to play football because of a heart defect. According to reports, his contracts were cancelled by two clubs because of his condition.
Former national team doctor, Melusi Lukhele said a medical test was a FIFA standard for any player especially checking the cardiac.
Condition
“Some players are not aware that they have medical condition issues, especially the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which can cause sudden death in the field of play and it was important for soccer players to be tested before they can play soccer,” he said.
An echocardiogram, or ‘echo’, is a scan used to look at the heart and nearby blood vessels. It is a type of ultrasound scan, which means a small probe is used to send out high-frequency sound waves that create echoes when they bounce off different parts of the body. These echoes are picked up by the probe and turned into a moving image on a monitor, while the scan is carried out. An echocardiogram may be requested by a heart specialist (cardiologist) or any doctor, who thinks you might have a problem with your heart, including your GP. The test will usually be carried out at a hospital or clinic by a cardiologist, cardiac physiologist, or a trained technician called a sonographer.
Lukhele went on to say that in the country, all MTN Premier League players were tested before the start of the season, which he said was a regulation for EFA. “The only big challenge with our standard would probably be that doing the ultrasound of the heart is something that is currently a big challenge to do,” he added.
Similar
Another player who had a similar incident with the Pirates youngster is Manchester United Christian Eriksen, who was also not allowed to play in Italy Serie A by the Italian medical authority league following the cardiac arrest he suffered at Euro 2020.A statement put out by the Denmark international’s club, Inter Milan, said that Italian medical authorities had banned him from all sporting activity in Italy. Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest during his country’s opening match of the European Championships against Finland, receiving on-field treatment that ultimately saved his life. Following the incident at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, the midfielder had an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) fitted; a small battery-powered pacemaker that detects and stops abnormal heartbeats and can prevent fatal cardiac arrests by jolting the heart to restore a regular rhythm. Member of the Italian Football Federation’s Technical Scientific Committee, Franco Braconaro said in July that Eriksen would not be allowed to play in Italy unless the ICD device was removed.
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