ALTHOUGH Aphelele Fassi has been sidelined for a long time due to injury, he has not given up hope of recovering and being part of the Springboks who are expected to defend their World Cup title in Australia next year.
Fassi, a fullback and cornerback, was injured when the Hollywoodbets Sharks played the Lions in February.
His shoulder injury ended his Universal Rugby Championship (URC) season as he underwent surgery.
This year’s season the Sharks will wrap up on Saturday when they will face Zebre Parma at their home at Hollywoodbets Kings Park Stadium, Durban.
Fassi, who was speaking exclusively toOf this country when he was appointed as the ambassador of Nissan South Africa, he said that he is recovering and there are three to four weeks left for him to be healthy as he is working hard with the experts.
“I’ll be back before June hits,” said the player who is also nicknamed Weekend Special.
“What I am working on right now is to come back from injury to participate in the national team.”
The Sharks have not had a good season in the URC as they are currently sitting in 10th place.
In December, he changed the coach when John Plumtree left, his place was taken by the team’s legend, JP Pietersen, who was finally given a full-time job.
“We have been going up and down, we didn’t get the results we wanted. Even so, our last game will show how we want to continue next season. We will have eight weeks to prepare for next season and I am sure that the players will work hard to have a better season,” explained Fassi.
Saturday’s game will be the last one for the captain of the Springboks, Siya Kolisi, playing for the Sharks. Kolisi is returning to DHL Stormers in Cape Town.
“Siya has played a big role in the Sharks and many people look up to him. We will miss him a lot and I hope that we will see him when he comes to Kings Park, he will not be a burden for us,” said Fassi.