It was a moment in the making for months.
On Saturday night in Orlando, Thembi Kgatlana shared a high five with teammate Wang Shuang, touched the Exploria Stadium grass and sprinted into the game.
What would normally be a routine moment in a soccer match was a mammoth moment for the 27-year-old South African, who made her debut with Racing Louisville FC 10 months after signing with the NWSL club and played in her first competitive match in exactly 300 days since a torn Achilles tendon sidelined her.
“It was amazing to come back and play,” Kgatlana said after Racing’s 1-0 loss to Orlando. “A very bittersweet moment because I signed with Louisville a year ago and I only got to play now. Tough result today, but I think individually for me, it was an achievement. I would like to say thank you to Louisville, the technical team, my federation and everyone else who supported me.”
To fully understand the emotions of Kgatlana’s Saturday night, rewind to last summer’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. By July 10 last year, the 2018 African player of the year had already led her team to back-to-back wins in the Cup of Nations group stage, including an impressive 2-1 victory over Nigeria, and she was flying high after Racing acquired her via transfer from Spanish power Atletico Madrid.
But in the 71st minute of South Africa’s win over Botswana, Kgatlana came off with a devastating injury. She’d planned to travel to Louisville and join her new team immediately following the Cup of Nations. Instead, she headed to South Africa for her recovery and the start of her rehabilitation process.
“The best thing that made me have passion to come back was how Louisville supported me even when I got injured,” Kgatlana said. “I signed with them on a Thursday; I got injured on a Sunday. They could have easily pulled out and said, ‘Hey, we no longer want you.’ But they showed they wanted me there. That’s something that I kept at the back of my mind, that I wanted to come back and play for this club.”
Racing’s medical team worked closely with the South African Football Association to coordinate surgery, post-operation processes and rehab.
Kgatlana had successful surgery in late July. She started post-op physical therapy in October and was running on a treadmill by January.
The first South African to score at a FIFA Women’s World Cup reported to Louisville for the start of preseason on Jan. 23, almost six months later than she anticipated.
She began team training in April and on Saturday experienced the moment she had been working toward.
“The only thing that was challenging thing was time,” Kgatlana said. “When people tell you you’re out for a year, you have everything in your head, saying, ‘Oh, darn, a year is such a long time.’ But I took it one day at a time, and it was nice to spend the last of the season after I signed with Louisville at home with my family and friends. That took my mind off a lot of things and my injury.”
Now she can focus on her original goal in signing Racing: Score goals and help her team win games.
