The South African Football Association (SAFA) Chief Medical Officer, Dr Thulani Ngwenya, says the injured Banyana Banyana star Gabriela Salgado, is on the mend and responding well to treatment.
It’s been just over a month (22 July 2025) since the JVW player suffered a long-term injury in a freak accident in a semi-final fixture against Nigeria at the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
The 83rd minute incident saw the JVW player being stretchered off after being attended to on the field by the CAF and Banyana Banyana medical teams. She was hospitalized for a few days and underwent an operation during that period before flying home after the tournament to start with her recovery process.
“Gabby is recovering really well. She has shown great progress over the past few weeks. She is now doing physiotherapy and will soon start with the Biokineticist,” said an elated Dr Ngwenya.
Salgado was recently seen at the UJ Soccer Stadium walking unaided but using crutches, to give support to her teammates, the Blue Diamonds in the 1-all draw against TUT Matsatsantsa Ladies in a Hollywoodbets Super League encounter.
“She has progressed rapidly and walking on her own is part of the rehabilitation plan. The desired plan after an operation is to get an athlete back to walking unaided as soon as it’s safe to do so. By doing that you are stimulating the body to go back to full functionality,” added Dr Ngwenya.
“Gaby has a strong and positive mindset – that is her character. Over and above that she has a very supportive family and team set-up, but, most importantly, she is also very compliant with the rehabilitation plan, hence the positivity in her recovery.”
The SAFA CMO has reiterated that despite the evident progress, and the recovery process being on track, she still has a long way to go and must still not be rushed.
“It is safe to stick to the timelines that were set before. We don’t want to put pressure onto the recovery quickly. She still needs to complete all the stages of rehabilitation before she starts with Graduated Return to Play programme,” concluded Dr Ngwenya.
The 28-year-old has been ruled out for the entire season and is expected to return to action only in the new year.
In Morocco, Salgado had started the first four matches from the bench – Ghana, Tanzania, Mali and Senegal – before being given a starting berth against Nigeria.
The injury came at the time when the two sides were deadlocked at 1-1 in the semi-final clash – and the reaction of everyone – including both sets of players – showed the seriousness, with everyone holding their hands on the heads and some openly in tears.
The Super Falcons went on to win the match 2-1, denying Banyana Banyana a chance to defend their continental title.
Salgado will miss the 2026 WAFCON qualifier against the DR Congo in October and, should South Africa qualify – she will be in a race against time to make the squad for the tournament that is scheduled for March, which is a Brazil 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifier.
By Matlhomola Morake
