TS Galaxy coach Sead Ramovic hails 38-year-old Bernard Parker

The 38-year-old former Bafana Bafana international was sidelined following a career-threatening tackle by Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Bongani Zungu that left him with a broken leg in October last year.

But the forward returned to action on Monday night when he came off the bench in The Rockets’ 3-0 defeat to Sundowns in the DStv Premiership, with Ramovic saying he is in awe of Parker’s mental strength.

"I think Parker is an inspiration for all of us. To get back after this really horrible injury, not many people believed that he would be back that quick, or actually would be back at all because of his age," said Ramovic.

"But then you can see what a great inspiration he is for a lot of players that might have this kind of bad injury, that everything is possible."

While Parker’s future is yet to be decided beyond the 2023/24 season, being able to bounce back gives him a fighting chance in their remaining six matches to help them in their quest to achieve their best-ever finish under the Serbian coach.

"We are just happy and lucky to witness this with Parker – what a mentally strong guy he is, and he deserves to be back into the team, which is just unbelievable," he said.

"Everything is your life is possible if you have a great attitude, great lifestyle, fantastic character and, of course, the discipline – this is what he has, it's what he's practicing, and I think he's excellent in a lot of things, which has become a habit of his."

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