Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Rivaldo Coetzee admits that being “mentally” strong played a crucial role during his road to recovery after picking up an injury in March this year.

The 26-year-old has been out of action since March this year after he sustained a hernia injury, which has seen him miss 15 matches so far this season.

However, Coetzee recently travelled with the Sundowns squad for the first time this season for their encounter against Maritzburg United and was named on the bench during their win over Royal AM in the match that followed but was an unused substitute.

Coetzee revealed that maintaining a positive attitude has helped him with his recovery journey as well as being surrounded by his fellow teammates.

“Luckily for me, I was out of the pitch for an entire year when I came to Mamelodi Sundowns so during that time I got to work on my mental well-being and learned how to be strong in such situations,” Coetzee told his club’s official website.

“But this time around it’s different because I had to get surgery and I had to be strong mentally [and] because I had built up my mentality before, it worked in my favour during this injury.

“I had prepared myself mentally and I knew the recovery journey wouldn’t be easy for me. My positive mindset pushed me to put in a little bit of extra work and I was able to keep my shape during the time I was out and I’m happy about that.

“I’m happy to be back with the team and on the bench because that is a good step for me as I have just returned from an injury”. The 25-year-old star further expressed his gratitude to the medical team at the club for looking after him during his injury and consistently checking up on him and his progress.

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