A cold war has been raging over the past few days between PSL clubs Royal AM and SuperSport United and it seems to be escalating into resentment and loathing.
At the centre of the simmering discontent is the injury and subsequent falling of Royal AM goalkeeper Patrick Hugo Nyame into a coma for two days after a collision accident when
United forward Bradley Grobler’s knee hit Nyame’s head during their DStv Premiership match on Tuesday, October 4.
Royal lost 3-1 but Grobler’s last-ditch goal contributed to a life-threatening incident as Nyame woke up in hospital dazed because of an acute concussion. It should be pointed out from the onset, football is a contact sport and head injuries are unavoidable as players go gung-ho, challenging for the ball, in the process risking life-threatening injuries.
In any contact sport where contestation for the ball is intense or the ball is being hit, injuries are bound to occur.
Royal AM multi-millionaire boss Shauwn Mkhize is livid. Her infuriation is fuelled by the silence from Grobler and his club, accusing them of caring less for her keeper as they have not even sent a “get well” message or even called Nyame after he woke up in hospital .
I mean, really MaMkhize has been in the game long enough to understand what trauma and regret Grobler could be going through because it was a matter of life and death for Nyame.
I know Grobler, I have spoken to and interviewed him more than once. I can vouch for him; there was definitely no malice.
There is absolutely no way Matsatsantsa and Grobler can be accused of not caring about Nyame’s well-being to the extent MaMkhize would question their ubuntu and sportsmanship on one of her social media pages.
To further increase the tension, Nyame has also come out guns blazing, pointing a finger at United and their striker for not calling or visiting him after he regained consciousness.
I must hasten to say the gesture was still to come, both Thwihli Thwahla’s Nyame and MaMkhize jumped the gun, because, I’ve been told United asked for Nyame’s contact details while he was unconscious.
As things stand, the Cameroonian keeper, 36, seems to have recovered, not fully though, as he is undergoing therapy and it will take time before he returns to man the goalposts.
Nyame is the No1 keeper at Royal AM.
The tension is palpable, so it would be appropriate for United coach Gavin Hunt, Grobler and some of the senior players, even management, to send speedy recovery messages to Nyame and MaMkhize or to visit him.
Soccer Scene wishes Nyame a speedy recovery. It will be great to watch him play again.
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