Pirates striker Lepasa vows to fight off injury

It’s been months without any action for Orlando Pirates striker Zakhele Lepasa following an ankle injury and it seems the 23-year-old is set to be out for a longer period as he fights his way to recovery.

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Lepasa has been injured since December last year with an ankle injury, which saw him miss the rest of the campaign in the previous season following a promising start.

So much that he misses the beautiful game, Lepasa posted a picture of himself on social media, remembering the day he stepped up to take the winning penalty for TS Galaxy against Kaizer Chiefs in the Nedbank Cup back in 2019 while on loan from Bucs.

“I’ve fought. I’ve been in pain. I’ve been doubted. I’ve been counted out. I’ve been pushed aside before. I’ve had this dream when no one else saw it in me. I have kept my FAITH… Even though my background was bad, even though I’m not the most talented or gifted. Even though I had so many reasons not to “make it”. Even with that, I am here. And I BELONG HERE! I DESERVE TO BE HERE! All this was built, I wasn’t born with it… I’ve sweat blood and tears, I have pushed through the pain. And even though most think this is as far as I can go, I still have a lot in me,” Lepasa wrote on his Facebook page.

“Infact what I have achieved so far has just been the beginning. This is all just a foundation, all this means nothing to me. All this is not even close to the dreams and goals I’ve set for myself… So I will keep fighting, through hard times I will fight. Through serious injuries I will fight. Through seemingly impossible situations I will fight. When it’s dark, I will see the light. When “failure” comes knocking at my door, I will not let it in. I will fight until I take my last breath. And after everything, it’ll be one hell of a story!”

This week, Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer confirmed that Lepasa will not be returning to action anytime soon.

“Lepasa is far from (coming back) for us. We are speaking month, not days or weeks, months. He needs more time, he had a really difficult injury.”