A Bafana Bafana international and former Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder has extended his gratitude to South Africa coach Stuart Baxter for selecting him to do duty at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
France-based midfielder Bongani Zungu was in danger of missing the tournament after a lengthy lay-off following an injury sustained while playing for Ligue 1 outfit Amiens in September 2018.
Read: Furman on Bafana Afcon exit
Not only did the 26-year-old recover fully from his injury in time for the spectacle, the former University of Pretoria man also finished as his country's top goalscorer in Egypt following his two strikes, against Namibia and Nigeria.
In the wake of Bafana's Afcon elimination via their 2-1 defeat to the Super Eagles in the quarter-finals on Wednesday, Zungu has given his thoughts on his contribution in Egypt, and also extended his gratitude to former Kaizer Chiefs tactician Baxter.
"Personally, I think I had a good Afcon and I'm grateful because I came back from a long injury," Zungu told SuperSport TV, as per africanfootball.com.
"I'm grateful that the coach called me to the squad when a lot of people were questioning it, and I feel I did my best."
Despite South Africa's failure to advance to the semi-finals of the competition, Zungu also insisted the future is bright for a youthful Bafana side.
"We've got a very good team, we got some young players. The future is bright for Bafana Bafana, we need to stay positive," he added.
"We look forward to more competitions and hopefully we'll learn from players and grow from this."