Hadebe returns for Houston Dynamo after five-month injury layoff

Zimbabwe international defender Teenage Hadebe made his much-awaited return to competitive football after a five-month injury by playing the entire 90 minutes in Houston Dynamo’s 4-1 win over Vancouver Whitecaps in a Major League Soccer (MLS) match last Thursday.

Hadebe was given a wa rm welcome by the Houston D ynamo f ans a s h e u nderlined h is importance f or t he t eam w ith a s olid d isplay in his team’s victory which lifted them to fourth position o n the MLS Western Conference log on 43 points from 29 matches.

The 27-y ear-old d efender e ndured a f rustrating p eriod on t he s idelines af ter h e s uffered a l eg i njury i n April, w hich r esulted i n him undergoing surgery.

Hadebe p layed his first minutes with the reserve side earlier this month to mark his return from the injury. He was also an unused substitute i n t he p revious r ound of matches in the MLS.

He wa s f inally h anded h is f irst s tart o n Thursday morning, playing the entire 90 minutes in Houston Dynamo’s 4-1 w in over Vancouver Whitecaps.

After impressing on his return, Hadebe further u nderlined h is i mportance t o t he Houston D ynamo’s d efensive d epartment a s h e has o ver t he l ast c ouple o f se asons a sserted himself as one of the best defenders at the club since his arrival from Turkey.

Hadebe’s r eturn t o f ull f itness i s a m ajor boost f or t he Z imbabwe Warriors ah ead o f their r eturn to i nternational f ootball l ater this year.

The former Chicken Inn and Kaizer Chiefs star is expected to play an important role for the Warriors in their Fifa World Cup Qualification campaign which gets underway in November.

Zimbabwe are in the same group as Nigeria, South Africa, Benin, Rwanda and Lesotho.

Only t he t op t eam a t t he e nd o f t he round-robin q ualifiers w ill a utomatically l and a t icket to the f inals in the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2026.