Mamelodi Sundowns defender Terrence Mashego admits it was a “difficult season” after his first season with the Brazilians was hampered by multiple injuries.

The 24-year-old completed his dream move when joined the Brazilians from Cape Town City in September 2022.

The Bafana Bafana international went on to win the DStv Premiership title with Sundowns but he was limited to 12 appearances across all competitions due to several injuries.

Mashego admits it was a dream come true to join the Tshwane giants and winning the league title was the cherry on top despite his season being interrupted by injury.

“I am excited, there are some footballers who have played for many years and some even retired without even winning a single trophy. I’ve won the Nedbank Cup before, but not the league,” Mashego told his club’s official website.

“It feels very different, I can’t describe it, but it’s a different kind of feeling because with the league you need to play throughout the season. You’ve got to perform and you need to do well, it’s a special moment.”

Mashego has also opened up about his injury hit first season with the DStv Premiership champions.

“Personally it was a difficult season because when the season started I was still with Cape Town City and I didn’t do preseason with the team [Cape Town City] because I was out with an injury.

“I got a knee injury when I was with the national team and I was supposed to be out for two months (eight weeks).

“Initially when I got injured I just told myself that I need to focus on my injury so that when I come back I can start shifting my focus and regain my fitness, make sure that I take game by game and as an individual I always motivate myself and I always try to do my best, because I knew that when I came to Sundowns there was pressure.

“I knew the individuals that are playing in my position and also if you could assess throughout the season, Aubrey [Modiba] and Sifiso [Ngobeni] they’ve been doing well. I knew that when I came back I also had to set the standard and towards the end I was getting there.

“I was now getting used to the guys, how they play and the system of the team, the instructions of the coaches and I was able to now adapt to the instructions.”

He added: “It was a challenging season for me because throughout the season I only played about five games and if I were to include the CAF Champions League it would be seven games.

“This has never happened before, since I started my football career in the first division I’ve been playing consistently, playing about thirty games in a season and that’s why for me it was a difficult season. I am used to scoring goals and getting assists, but then this season I don’t have a goal or an assist.”

Photo by Shaun Roy/BackpagePix