After sitting on the sidelines for the entire 2017-2018 Absa Premiership soccer season due to a shoulder injury, Chippa United striker Lerato Manzini is back and itching to hit the net.
The 28-year-old, from Welkom in the Free State, made his first appearance for the Port Elizabeth professional side since his injury during their 2-1 loss to Highland Park in October, coming on as a substitute 68 minutes into the game.
He made the start at Moses Mabhida Stadium during their goalless draw against Kaizer Chiefs recently, but was pulled off with just 30 minutes of play before the referee blew the final whistle.
Now that he is back in the game, Manzini says he feels like a new person.
“My form is OK at the moment. I am very motivated,” the former Bloemfontein Celtic player said.
“It has been a long time that I have not been playing and now that I am back I feel like I am a new person.
“It was a very serious shoulder injury, I had to have an operation, but I thank God I managed to recover very well.
“It was also very frustrating not playing, but what kept me motivated is the fact that I have matured now as a footballer.
“I kept myself busy during all that time – I spent four months at home in Welkom.
“I think spending that time with family also helped me as they were very supportive.”
As stressing as it was being ruled out for a season due to injury, Manzini said being professional helped him to stay on the wagon and not fall into the trap of weight gain and alcohol abuse, which often happens to players do when they have been out for so long.
“I stayed motivated and moved away from negative people. Sometimes if you listen too much to what people say you will be discouraged.”
Against Amakhosi, Manzini kept Chiefs captain and goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune on his toes.
Coach Erik Tinkler praised the attacker for his efforts against the Glamour Boys and said he just needed to work more on his craft.
“Lerato looked on fire. He could not miss at training. That is why we went with him for this game, but training and a game are two different things,” Tinkler said.
“He will get better because he has the qualities – we can see [that].
“Sometimes you must give them [players] credit for getting into those areas he got into.
“In the first half he had a great chance that in training he probably would have put at the back of the net .
“But with the pressure he didn’t – and that does not make him a bad striker. He just needs to keep working on that in training.”
Manzini is also confident he will get his mojo back and start banging in goals for Chippa.
“I really did want to score against Chiefs but it didn’t happen. I just have to be patient with myself and keep my head up and focus on the next game because there is an opportunity again for me to score goals.
“I know I am going to score goals. I am not going to be in a hurry. I know it is going to happen, it’s just a matter of time,” the striker said.
“In fact, one goal will trigger more, but I think for now my main focus is to get back to my fitness levels.”
He said he had not set any targets for himself this season but his plan was to score in each game in which he featured.
The Chilli Boys have not had the best of starts to the league this season. They are languishing at the bottom of the log after failing to clinch a win in four matches.
However, the striker is adamant Chippa will overcome their struggles soon.
“To be honest, sometimes it not easy for us players to adopt to certain philosophies of a coach. It takes time.
“I think also [with] players coming in and others going out, it takes time to understand each other [as players].
“We are working on that and once the team start winning games then we will be unstoppable, as long as we are working the way we have been working and also showing support to each other.”