The end of September 2023 will mark two years since Namibian goalkeeper Virgil Vries last played competitive football in the colours of Swallows after having joined them following a stint with Kaizer Chiefs.
A knee injury picked from his time at Swallows forced him to undergo surgery in February 2022 and has only been 'medically clearly' since the end of April.
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The 34-year-old is now hoping to revive his career in the new season with piles of his experience on his back having done also done duty for Baroka, Maritzburg United, Carara Kicks, and Golden Arrows before through his time in South Africa.
"With the operation that I had I thought it would be something simple, but I only got cleared in terms of the medical record at the end of April going into May," Vries tells KickOff.
"Since then, I have been working out with the hope of getting an opportunity in pre-season.
"It took this long because I didn't do rehabilitation since Swallows had financial problems.
"Even with the operation I had to pay for it myself.
"When I started training with AmaZulu they were helping me with my rehab because after my operation I didn't do rehab properly.
"I then had niggles because my knee was still swollen so we couldn't understand what was happening.
"I then found out when I was at AmaZulu that there was a ligament that wasn't right, so I had to do an arthroscope which took another two to three months.
"So, from then on, I decided to do proper rehab working with a biokinetics guy who I had to pay from own pocket.
"So far, I have been working on strengthening and balancing just to get me ready for the next opportunity.
"I didn't want to get an opportunity while not ready like what happened when I was at AmaZulu.
"At the end of the day this is the bread and butter for my family and kids so I understood that the club was going through financial challenges, but I couldn't be sitting and waiting for the club.
"We had to take the initiative with my agent to do it.
"I was frustrated by how it happened and had to delay the operation until February because this wasn't money that was readily available.
"It has taken a lot out of me but I'm a firm believer in that whenever things happen, I must learn and grow.
"I can't blame the club if they are struggling financially because for me the most important thing was to get it fixed.
"That was the only way to get back on the pitch so that is why we had to take this type of decision.
"I have taken care of myself all the time and when the pre-season comes, I will be ready to take the opportunity with responsibility.
"I'm being positive about this because I never thought that it would take this long with ligaments that didn't grow well.
"I had opportunities in December, but I still felt like 'let me finish this programme proper' so that when I join the club there shouldn't be difficulties for me.
"I needed the job, but you shouldn't go into a job half-heartedly and only be able to give 70% instead of 100% that is expected of you.
"You must be able to give everything instead of cheating the game.
"I'm not the type of person to want to cheat so let me 100% and then I can give you what you deserve as a club.
"If you are not 100% then you are not only cheating yourself and the employer but the game at large.
"It is difficult but I'm surviving because my kids are okay and so those are blessings to me as I still feel loved which is important to me," says Vries.
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