Malope weighs early retirement as injury forces shift away from football

Former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Khotso Malope says he is seriously considering walking away from professional football after a long‐running knee problem kept him out for the entire 2024/25 season and left him without a club.

Malope, who most recently turned out for Kruger United in the Motsepe Foundation Championship, has not played a competitive match since the 2024/25 campaign. He left Kruger at the end of that season and has been sidelined ever since, with the persistent injury now pushing him towards an early exit from the professional game.

“I am currently not playing. I got an injury on my knee and I thought I should start focusing on other things because it’s been a worry for me. I have been trying (to get it sorted), but the doctors and physios are not finding what the problem is. Last season I did not play at all because I was trying to recover,” Malope told Soccer Laduma.

The 29-year-old (age not given in source, so omitted) stressed he has not yet formally retired, but admitted his focus has moved away from trying to revive his playing career.

“I haven’t retired, but I am still deciding. Right now, my mind is not on football. Sometimes you must accept and say this is the time. Right now I am focusing on other things business wise,” he said.

“You look at your peers and the guys that you were playing with and they are still playing. Sometimes I think I could still be playing, so it’s tough. Football stays in our system, but I do play indoor now and again and there is a team I [play] with, but I still feel the pain even when I am not pushing myself. That’s what made me feel that I cannot continue playing at the level.

“It’s painful because it means my career is cut short, but I am one person who does not have too much regrets because I feel like I played, even though this is not the way I wanted to go out.”

From Chiefs prospect to second-tier campaigner

Malope emerged from the Kaizer Chiefs ranks with high expectations, making his way into the first-team set‐up before being sent out on loan to gain experience.

He spent the 2015/2016 season at Moroka Swallows, followed by a spell with Thanda Royal Zulu in 2016/17. At Thanda he was part of the side that secured promotion, a breakthrough moment that led to his recall to Chiefs by then head coach Steve Komphela in 2017.

Opportunities at Naturena ultimately proved limited, and Malope left Kaizer Chiefs in 2019. He went on to build a career across several clubs in the lower divisions, including Richards Bay, TS Sporting, Casric Stars and, most recently, Kruger United in the Motsepe Foundation Championship, before his knee injury halted his progress.

Looking to stay in the game in a new role

Although he appears to be edging towards ending his playing career, Malope insists he does not want to disappear from football altogether and has already started exploring qualifications for a future off the pitch.

“I don’t want to be lost to the game. I still want to share my experience in the game. I’ve been enquiring on coaching courses, but I feel like I want to get into physical training or maybe being an analyst,” he explained.

For now, Malope is using his time away from professional football to recover as best he can, assess his options and develop interests outside the sport. However, with his knee still troubling him even during casual indoor games, the former Chiefs youngster accepts that a new chapter away from playing at elite level is likely to begin sooner rather than later.