South Africa cricketers pledge 50,000 Rand for Solo Nqweni's rehabilitation

The South Africa men's senior side has pledged a significant amount of money to help the rehabilitation of Solo Nqweni, the 26-year-old allrounder who returned home from playing in Aberdeenshire after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome last July.

Nqweni was in an induced coma for four weeks before spending five months in intensive care in a Scottish hospital to be treated for the rare and serious auto-immune disorder. He returned home in January to undergo rehabilitation in Johannesburg.

The cost of rehabilitation is significant and various fund-raising initiatives have been launched to assist Solo, a CSA release said, and a contribution of Rand 50,000 (US$ 3330 approx.) has come in from the men's squad.

"Through the good and the difficult times, players always stand together and this is no different," Test captain Faf du Plessis said in a CSA statement. "The decision to stand by Solo, as part of the cricket family was an easy one to make."

Quinton de Kock, the ODI captain, said, "On behalf of the Proteas, we would like to wish Solo all the best with his rehabilitation and we hope to see him on the field in the future."

Nqweni played for South Africa Under-19s in 2012 and has been contracted to Eastern Province and the Warriors franchise since. He was on his first cricketing assignment abroad to Aberdeenshire. After two months in the UK, Nqweni picked up what he thought was the flu. It was only when the symptoms did not subside that someone at the Aberdeenshire club insisted Nqweni seek medical attention. The National Health Service (NHS) diagnosed him with Guillain-Barré and he was admitted to hospital on July 14 when matters took a turn for the worse. Nqweni had to put into a coma so a machine could do the work of his lungs.