Mamelodi Sundowns attacker Sibusiso Vilakazi believes he can improve on previous performances once the 2019-20 Absa Premiership campaign resumes.

The Brazilians were second on the Absa Premiership table with nine matches to go before the league was suspended because of the Covid-19 pandemic in March.

The 30-year-old attacker has been one of Sundowns’ top performers this season after scoring 10 goals and 11 assists from 32 appearances in all competitions.

However, Vilakazi says he is blessed to not have experienced any injury setbacks this campaign as he is enjoying one of his best seasons in a Sundowns jersey.

‘I have been blessed by not being injured this season, that was the setback previously,’ Vilakazi told his club’s official website.

‘I am grateful for being injury-free, and when that happens the coaches will give you the opportunity, and I think I have done the job the best way I can. My priority has been to do my best to help the team. That’s my motto this season. I believe I can get better once we resume football because Sundowns is a team determined to get more trophies.

‘I want to smell the grass again, get the feel of the ball on my boots, wear the training kit and going for it again and hearing the coach give us that pep-talk again, that we are back. Those are the things that I am looking forward to and to see how we go about the remaining games and the Nedbank Cup, that’s exciting.

He added: ‘There’s a positive side and the negative side of the break – the negative being that it has gone on beyond what we anticipated and led to a bit of frustration.

‘We thought by now we would be back doing what we do best, which is playing football. We thought things would get back to normal in terms of it being okay for us to go back, does it make sense and given the medical greenlight. But the positive side is of course the opportunity to bond with our families because we are away so much. We participate in the Caf Champions League and that in itself takes so much time away from family, the beautiful side is seeing your children daily now. It’s how we test ourselves in Africa to see how far we can go, so it has the negative and the positive side,’ Vilakazi concluded.