Amakhosi coach Muhsin Ertugral was a happy man on Tuesday morning, despite him having to change his training session from the Kaizer Chiefs Village in Naturena to the Shaft seventeen complex where the Chiefs development teams usually train because the training ground in Naturena was water logged.

He still managed to keep the smile on his face as he oversaw The Amakhosi’s sturdy central defensive kingpin, Jonathan Quartey, make a successful return to training after a three-month lay off due to injury, as the nineteen year old Ghanaian defender came through a light training session without any difficulty.

Quartey, who made his debut for Chiefs in August last year against Jomo Cosmos in Absa Premiership game, was injured during Chiefs' opening match of the 2007 Telkom Knockout Cup competition against Moroka Swallows in late September.

It was found out afterwards that he needed to undergo a hernia operation and after a successful operation, he spent most of the past few months recuperating. The fact that Quartey was able to come through Tuesday’s workout unscathed was a positive sign for the Chiefs medical team, who believe that the Ghana youth international could well begin full training by the end of next week.

Right track

Jonathan worked mainly with Chiefs physiotherapist Lou-Lloyd Morgan on Tuesday and he was pleased with the way Quartey handled himself during the session, which lasted just over an hour.

“Jonathan went through a number of rehabilitative exercises on Tuesday morning. It was his first session working with a ball and doing a lot of running over the past three months, so it was important for us to gauge how he had been progressing with the fitness and other training he had been undergoing. And thus far I am pleased by his effort as well as his overall performance in the session”.

Amakhosi head physiotherapist David Milner believes that it will not be too long before Quartey will be back at full training.

“From the way he has been progressing and the report that I received from Lou on Tuesday, we can safely say that within the next 7-10 days we are expecting him to resume normal training”.

Ball work

For Quartey overcoming the first major injury of his career was a painful experience. At times it seemed to be getting the better of his emotions and it was only natural that it came as a major relief for him that he came through, what in essence, was his first kick of a ball since September without any recurrences of the injury.

He told kaizerchiefs.com after the session: “The feeling of kicking a ball again after such a long time was really awesome. It was a tiresome, at times, lonely three months trying to come back from this injury. I am just grateful that this episode is behind me and that I can now look forward to getting into full training with the guys next week, and it pleases me to know that by the time the league kicks off again I will be in the reckoning to play again”.

Positive step

Muhsin Ertugral has described Quartey’s return to training as a positive boost for The Amakhosi. A visibly happy Ertugral, while commenting on Quartey’s recovery, said to kaizerchiefs.com: “I did mention previously that this extended period without competitive matches will be good for us. One of the reasons I said that is so that we can get the injured guys back to full fitness. It is wonderful news that Jonathan was able to start training on Tuesday and I am really looking forward to having him back in our training sessions some time next week”.