Banyana Banyana goalkeeper Andile Dlamini has described how when she heard she had a heart condition she feared it would end her career.
Dlamini, the goalkeeper of the tournament as Banyana won the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations last week, was speaking to Robert Marawa on his Marawa Sports Worldwide show.
She revealed that when she contracted Covid-19 last year and it lingered for longer than normal her club, Mamelodi Sundowns, took her to doctors. She was told her heart was full of fluid.
“They checked me out and found I have a heart infusion. My whole world stopped,” Dlamini said.
“I was like, ‘How am I going to work, how am I going to feed my family?’”
Even the best on the continent get to be human and shed a tear on 📻📻... #Wafcon2022 Goalkeeper of the Tournament & African Champion @sticks_andile reflects on why being second choice was not gonna be an option for her!! #MSW @Banyana_Banyana @VumaFM @SowetanLIVE @RISEfm943 pic.twitter.com/a9gFVwKO5L
— robertmarawa (@robertmarawa) August 1, 2022
She said she only expected to return to play in January this year, but “a miracle happened and I came back before the Champions League”.
She trained for a week and then starred for Sundowns when they won the inaugural Caf Women's Champions League in November 2021.
She said doctors said it was “a miracle” she had returned to play. She goes for regular medical check-ups to ensure she is healthy enough to play.
Dlamini also spoke about Banyana's joy at their Wafcon victory and the turnaround in support it can bring for the women's national team, Sundowns Ladies winning the Champions League and SA's prospects at the 2023 World Cup in New Zealand and Australia.
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