Thulani Serero is delighted to be back on the pitch, even if just for a training game as pre-season preparations with his new Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem got under way at the weekend.
And there has been a word of encouragement from new Bafana Bafana boss Stuart Baxter, who said he was pleased to know the 27-year-old midfielder was back after a horrific year and can again be considered for the national side.
Baxter did not pick Serero for last month's trip to Nigeria for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier because of his lack of game time in his last season at Ajax Amsterdam, where he was thrown out of the first team and banished to play in the reserves because the coach said he was not part of his plans.
But Serero has now signed to play at Vitesse and was in action at the weekend in their first friendly against a visiting club from Ukraine, FC Oleksandria.
"It was important for me to get match time back in my legs," he told Dutch media after the game.
The Soweto-born midfielder, who made his name at Ajax Cape Town, is one of several reinforcements Vitesse signed with an eye on their participation in the Uefa Europa League this coming season.
Serero has had 11 Champions League appearances for Ajax.
"He even played against Barcelona and he knows how it works," said his new teammate Thomas Bruns.
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