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Orlando Pirates have confirmed the exit of Bafana Bafana striker Zakhele Lepasa, just a day after he spoke about his hunger for game time.
When the South African Football Association (SAFA) announced the Bafana Bafana squad to play in the Lepasa CHAN squad last night, they referred to Lepasa as an unattached player.
Lepasa scored 20 goals in 64 matches at Pirates, a spell that was unfortunately undone by injuries.
He didn’t play a single game last season, as he was also recovering from an injury. Speaking to the media last night, Lepasa said he’s longing for game time.
"I think for me the one thing that would mean a lot to me is to see myself on the field and wearing a football jersey and being able to get the first minutes of the season. It's something that I'm looking forward to,” Lepasa said.
“I didn't play the whole season last season but I've had an injury like that, the difference is that one had occurred in December but I only came back the next December. So, it's like I only missed the last part of the season and the first part of the season.
“So, I never really felt like I was out the whole season and for me this is the first time that this happens and it brings a lot of doubt in my football career. It brings a lot of doubt in my life as well, in terms of can I still try and be back and do what I can do best and maybe get back into the national team and all the goals that I've set for myself.
“I'm also yet to see that but it has done nothing but fuel my hunger because of the pain that I had to go through, the sacrifices that I had to make in one year, for me to find myself playing football again."
Lepasa, who has previously been on loan to Stellenbosch FC, TS Galaxy, and SuperSport United, will also be looking to use the CHAN tournament to revive his career and possibly impress his next employer.
Interestingly, he says he didn’t know about this call-up.
"What's crazy about CHAN is a lot of us players when we play and we are regulars in our team, we tend to take CHAN and an opportunity like that for granted until a situation like this comes where you haven't played for a while and you understand how important it is,” he added.
“Now it is as important as going to Bafana Bafana to go play the qualifiers and to go play in AFCON or whatever the game may be. So, I'm yet to think about it to be honest but I'm definitely happy but for me, it's not just about being happy, it's if I can see myself playing again.
“Training well and playing again and feeling like myself again, I think that's one thing that I'm looking forward to."
