Mikia Kalati
LIKUENA and Black Leopards attacking midfielder Luciano Matsoso is set to miss two months of action after suffering an achilles tendon injury on national duty recently.
The diminutive winger sustained the injury during the recent Likuena practice match against Free State Stars and in the process missed back-to-back matches against Uganda in Kampala and Maseru on 13 and 16 October respectively.
Likuena lost the first match 3-0 and fell on home turf 0-2 to the Cranes reducing their chance of qualifying for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations scheduled for next year in Cameroun.
Matsoso admitted that he was not aware that the injury was serious but has since been ruled out of action for almost two months.
He said that the injury is a big blow for him as he was edging closer to making his debut for Black Leopards having joined them in the recent transfer window after a spell in Poland.
The injury needed surgery and the striker is currently walking with the aid of crutches until he has healed. The Likuena winger is now set to miss two months of action for his club and is also out of Likuena’s 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Tanzania scheduled for the… of this month in Maseru.
“The injury has negatively affected me because I haven’t played a single game since I got my International Transfer Certificate (ITC) late from Poland,” Matsoso said.
“It hurts because I believe I was getting closer to making my debut for Black Leopards but now I will have to start from the scratch once the injury has healed.
“However, this is part of football and I understand though it was disappointing that I could not help my country in the recent matches against Uganda.”
The 24-year-old plays for the Limpopo outfit alongside his countrymen Tumelo Khutlang and Tshwarelo Bereng.
However, only Khutlang has so far featured for the South African Premiership side in the 2018/19 season and has already played six games while he also scored on his debut against Chippa United in August.
He came from the bench against Kaizer Chiefs on Sunday as Leopards lost 4-2 in a Telkom Knockout tie.
Lidoda Duvha coach, Joel Masutha, recently told this publication that Matsoso and Bereng were close to making their debut for the Limpopo side.
He explained that the late arrival of Matsoso’s ITC from Poland, where he played Oskar Przysucha, worked against him in making his debut while he said he believed that Bereng will soon get his break having played a few times for the reserve team to work on his fitness having also arrived late at the Leopards.
