Former Kaizer Chiefs and Cape Town City forward Lebogang Manyama has been forced into early retirement due to an injury.
The 32-year-old has been out of action since March 2022 after being released by Chiefs and there were rumours linking him to Cape Town City, however, there hasn’t been anything solid since the injury.
The former Bafana Bafana midfielder released a statement on his official Instagram account, where he also stated that he was “miraculously misdiagnosed with Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) and meniscus tears.
“After being miraculously misdiagnosed with MCL and meniscus tears when in fact I had torn my ACL [and] made it worse whilst rehabilitating the wrong places, today marks a very sad day for me as I have to call time on my football chapter as a player,” Manyama posted on his social media.
“[However] it is one I take with my head held high because never did I think I would be so blessed to showcase my talent and meet so many wonderful souls along the way, and for that I want to thank my family for the undying support.
“To all my ex-teammates and coaches, opponents, [and] everyone associated with this wonderful game, it has been an honour to be able to compete in this era of so many special players.
“And Lastly Thank U Lord for the Talent [and] allowing me to showcase it over and over again [and] as I go in for my fourth surgery on this knee I ask for your protection once again there are many of you, I didn’t mention ASANTE Sana See u guys very soon SKOMRADA.”
SKOMRADA as he is affectionately known in the footballing space, hangs his boots, having made 320 appearances in all competitions, scoring 55 goals, and providing 39 assists over 12 seasons in professional football.
MANYAMA’S FOOTBALL JOURNEY:
Manyama started his senior career at now defunct Ajax Cape Town in 2010, 2013 he moved to Gauteng where he joined the Tshwane SuperSport United.
The midfielder then played for Cape Town City – in the club’s debut season in the premier league – during the 2016/17 season before making a move to Turkish side Konyaspor for one year.
His final chapter as a soccer player was at the Soweto giants, Amakhosi, from 2018 to 2022 where he featured in almost 100 games, before being released.
Manyama is also the recipient of the 2016/17 PSL Footballer of the Year and the PSL Players’ Player of the Season Awards.
