Kaizer Chiefs held a press conference on Thursday to announce that midfielder Wiseman Meyiwa had been forced to retire from football at the tender age of 19 due to injuries from a car accident. Meyiwa was involved in an accident in November 3 last year near Villiers in the Free State on his way home in Pietermaritzburg.
According to Kaizer Chiefs team doctor, Hashendra Ramjee, the 19-year-old sustained various injuries including an unstable fracture of his thoracic vertebrae with spinal cord injury.
“The thoracic vertebrae fracture was surgically repaired and he was transferred to Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital for further management. Wiseman has a permanent disability with a T6 paraplegia,”said Dr Ramjee.
Kaizer Chiefs Chairman, Kaizer Motaung stated that “We are very disheartened that Wiseman’s promising career had to come to an end so abruptly when he still had so much to offer,” says Motaung. “This is the first time that we’ve ever had to deal with this situation in as far as players go, but we are doing our best to ensure that we give Wiseman all the support and care he needs. We are shattered because he is very young, everyone had high hopes of him and his family expected a lot from his football career. Yet, in the same breath we are grateful that his life has been spared.
According to Kaizer Chiefs the talented midfielder left his home in KZN at the age of 14 to join the Kaizer Chiefs Youth Development Academy in 2014. He was promoted to the senior squad at the start of the 2017/18 season and capped his debut against Cape Town City on 13 September 2017 with one of the goals in a 2-0 win. He played 21 games for Amakhosi.
Football Manager, Bobby Motaung echoed the Chairman’s sentiments, saying, “The club will endeavour to give Wiseman and his family all the support he needs, including trauma counselling – emotional and psychological. We will also assist with educational support to ensure he is self-sufficient in the future. We will also put proper support systems in place to make sure his home-based care is as comfortable as possible.”
The club would like to thank everyone for all the prayers and messages of support after the accident, with a special word of gratitude going to all the nurses and doctors who have been providing excellent care for Wiseman.
