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'If the foot was not on the ground, perhaps the break could have been avoided,' Ngwenya said.
Lonathemba Mhlongo and Gabriela Salgado during the Banyana Banyana Training on the 02 July 2025 in Casablanca © Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
SAFA Chief Medical Officer and CAF Medical Committee Vice-President, Dr Thulani Ngwenya, remains optimistic about Gabriela Salgado’s chances of making a full recovery following the serious leg injury she sustained at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Salgado’s Banyana injury
Salgado suffered a broken leg during Banyana Banyana’s semi-final defeat to Nigeria on Tuesday evening. The 27-year-old has since undergone successful surgery in Morocco. Dr Ngwenya likened the nature of her injury to that of Bafana Bafana midfielder Sphephelo Sithole, who was sidelined last September with a career-threatening injury.
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Sithole also suffered a leg break during South Africa’s 3-2 win over South Sudan in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier. He has since recovered and is ready to return to competitive football ahead of the new season in Portugal.
“It is a complete leg break. When she went up, her foot was firmly in the ground and because of that, there was a heavy force from the Nigerian athlete on her. If the foot was not on the ground, perhaps the break could have been avoided,” Ngwenya said on Radio 2000.
“This is also most common for female athletes because of the bone density. The bone density is very low for female athletes because of their cycle and that’s why we always advocate for good nutrition to strengthen the bone and ligaments.
“Remember that we have also seen it with Sphephelo during an AFCON qualifier, he suffered the same injury and had to be transported back to South Africa to be operated on and he’s back in action. With Gabby I’m confident that she will recover.
‘Similar to Yaya’
“When they come back (to South Africa) on Monday, we’ll start with the rehabilitation process and within six months, Gabby will be back playing again. Yes, she will be out for four to six months. I can almost guarantee you and the entire nation that she will come back because she’s only 27. It was almost similar to Yaya Sithole and they are almost the same age.
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“Yaya is playing again now and ready to be selected. We almost had a similar injury with Refiloe Jane and she’s back playing even though it was ligaments. We had an incident with Thembi Kgatlana and she’s playing so I will trust the medical expertise that are there in South Africa who will make sure that Gabby is back.”
