Cricket Cranes star Deus Muhumuza is such a character; very vocal in the dressing room, always cracking jokes and teasing the youngsters around Lugogo Cricket oval, the team's venue for matches.
Cricket Cranes star Deus Muhumuza is such a character; very vocal in the dressing room, always cracking jokes and teasing the youngsters around Lugogo Cricket oval, the team's venue for matches.
Muhumuza was a mainstay in the national team set-up until after the 2022 Cricket World Cup Challenge League B tournament in Jersey, where the Cricket Cranes missed out on attaining ODI (One Day International) status, with Jersey advancing due to a superior net run rate.
The right-hand batsman had nursed side and calf strain injuries as he played, but the current injury has seen him endure a painful ordeal, as he narrates to Pulse Sports.
"I got a torn anterior cruciate ligament mid-2022, so I had surgery at Ruby hospital, but unfortunately (I don't know how), I got an infection; the surgeons tried everything to manage it but failed," a visibly crestfallen Muhumuza narrated.
He adds that they then reopened the ligament to clean up the wound. However, after two months, it still failed, so the surgeons reversed the entire operation, removing everything because there was a risk that Muhumza could lose his meniscus and patella, which would require him to have a knee replacement.
Luckily for Muhumuza, the infected craft and screws were successfully removed, saving his meniscus and patella, and the knee has dried up; he, however, needs at least four months for his knee to function back to normal so that he can have another ACL operation.
"So, I am now on post/pre-operation exercises, the first month is to manage the infection, which I have done, and soon I will be called for a check-up to see how far but the knee has to function normally again for the ACL operation to be redone," Muhumuza explained.
Asked how challenging the back and forth has been, the 33-year-old says you need to be strong mentally.
"It's been tough, but credit goes to my fellow players, the medical staff and the Uganda Cricket Association in general," he stated.
"This is not easy because not everyone can go through it the way I am going, sport prepares you for such situations, but you need support from everyone."
With the subsequent surgery set to rule Muhumuza out for up to nine months, the medium-pace bowler says he is not looking at the time he'll be out; instead, he is taking it day by day.
"For now, I can only take it day by day; the earliest I can get the operation is mid-June, then sit out for nine months, so the earliest I can return to the cricket field is mid-2024,” Muhumuza said.
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