Chronicle Editor
Fungai Muderere, [email protected]
UNITED States of America based ex Warriors, Highlanders and Chicken Inn central defender Teenage “Manero” Hadebe says he is recovering well following a serious leg injury he picked up in early May.
The 27-year-old defender who plays for Major League Soccer side Houston Dynamo, broke his leg injuring his ankle as well as his sheen resulting in his right foot being plastered when he was doing duty for US club.
After the injury, doctors said he was going to be out for five to six months.
“I’m recovering well. It’s one step at a time. It has been a very difficult period for me but it’s all getting better with each passing day. Akusafani bra,” said the Makokoba bred footie star in an interview from his base in the US.
Following the knock, through his twitter page, the former Kaizer Chiefs and Bantu Rovers lanky defender revealed that he underwent successful surgery.
“Road to recovery. Big thanks to Dr Greaser and his team on a successful surgery, Iam thankful to all the support from my family, friends and teammates at Houston Dynamo. Can’t wait to be back,” tweeted the Zimbabwe international.
In their response to the Zimbabwean defender’s tweet, Houston Dynamo said: “H-Town is with you all the way, Teenage! Get well soon and here’s to a speedy recovery.”
Hadebe has established himself as a vital cog at Houston Dynamo. This season he has played eight league games for his side. Because of injury, Hadebe started being ruled out of league action in Week Nine when Houston Dynamo played Real Salt Lake in a match that ended 0-0.
The defender’s last match was in the third round of the US Open Cup against Tampa Bay Rowdies which they won 1-0 on April 27.
The injury is likely set to see him being ruled out for the rest of the 2023 season which started on February 15 and ends on October 21
The former Mzilikazi High School student, Hadebe established himself as an integral member of the Houston Dynamo squad since his move from Turkish side Yeni Malatyaspor two years ago.
The Warriors defender’s dream to play against one of the two world’s greatest players, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo before he retires from football, is set to come true.
This comes after the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, Messi, moved to join the David Beckham owned club Inter Miami in the Major Soccer League [MLS] in the USA.
Earlier on this year, in a protracted monetary benefits dispute between Castle Lager Premier Soccer League former champions Chicken Inn and South Africa’s DStv Premiership side Kaizer Chiefs over the 2019 transfer of Hadebe from Amakhosi to Turkish side, Yeni Malatyaspor, Fifa’s tribunal ruled in favour of the 2015 Zimbabwean champions.
Hadebe joined Amakhosi in mid-2017 after having previously been on trial for the gold and black side in August 2016. With a sale on clause on his contract with the Super Diski side, the Gamecocks were set to financially benefit if the player was sold to another club.
That being the case, the towering centreback moved from the Soweto giants where he did duty from July 2017 to mid-2019 to Turkish Super Lig side, Yeni Malatyaspor, for an undisclosed fee amid reports that the South African side argued that the defender went for free.
It was a development that reportedly irked the Gamecocks family, the same predicament they fell victim to at the hands of ex-Super Diski side Mpumalanga Black Aces when their former striker Tendai Ndoro made a switch to another Soweto giant, Orlando Pirates in February 2018.
Aces refuted claims they owed Chicken Inn a 30 percent share from the transfer of the striker as part of the agreement signed between the two clubs, claiming the player was “off loaded to Pirates” for free. But when Ndoro moved to Mpumalanga Black Aces from the Gamecocks in 2013, a clause was reportedly inserted in the sale agreement that if the player made a move within five years, the Bulawayo side would get 30 percent of the transfer fee.
Hadebe then left Turkey in 2021 to secure a US$1,8 million move in the Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States where he is plying his trade with Houston Dynamo. In 2020, Highlanders received solidarity funds for the role they played in grooming Marvelous Nakamba and Hadebe.
Nakamba, now playing in England and Hadebe are Bosso junior products who blossomed at the now defunct Bantu Rovers, a team that was owned by former Highlanders player and coach Methembe Ndlovu. — @FungaiMuderere.
Online Reporter