Maboe taking ‘patient’ route

It’s closing in on five months since Lebohang Maboe (above) kicked a ball for Mamelodi Sundowns and indications are that the 27-year-old is recovering well after a knee surgery that has kept him on the sidelines.

The midfielder opened up about how his day-to-day life has changed since he went under the knife.

“It’s really not easy having to deal with a long-term injury. Going from being active your whole life, preparing for camps and games, to just sitting at home and watching the team play. You always want to be involved in the sessions and in the games,” Maboe said on the club’s website.

“Rehab can be frustrating. You can wake up one day and the knee might not be responding as well as the other days. As much as you want to push yourself, there’s nothing you can do, you just have to wait for the knee to heal.”

“Keeping myself motivated the whole time hasn’t been easy. One of the things I have learned is to take it one day at a time, you don’t really know what that means until you are out for a few months.

“After the operation, you can’t do some of the things you do on a daily basis, for example getting in and out of bed – you can’t do that on your own so I had to rely on my family to help me,” he added.

Maboe is not the first Downs player to suffer a lengthy injury recently – Thapelo Morena and Sibusiso Vilakazi have also endured long-term layoffs.

Morena twisted his ankle awkwardly, while “Vila” had two long term injuries – from which the duo returned ahead of schedule.

“I know I am usually an impatient person but with this injury I have learned to be patient. I’ve had to pace myself.

“I’ve also had to keep myself sane by reading books and watching documentaries on some of the sports people who have been through the same.”