Sol Bamba tells Sky Sports News he plans to play one more season and is in talks with Cardiff about extending his deal, which expires this summer; 'I'd like to go out on my own terms if I can', says Bamba, who plans to pursue a career in coaching when he retires
Saturday 22 May 2021 15:51, UK
Cardiff City defender Sol Bamba says returning to action after five months out with cancer was the "best 10 seconds of my career".
The 36-year-old announced on Thursday he was cancer free after being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in December.
Bamba underwent several rounds of chemotherapy and this month came on as a late substitute in Cardiff's home draw with Rotherham on the final day of the Sky Bet Championship season, playing the final few seconds.
"That was huge, that was very emotional for me and the family because after everything we went through we never thought I would have come back that early and be able to play a game this season," Bamba told Sky Sports News.
"I was really moved, and it was only 10 seconds, but it was the best 10 seconds of my career. I can't praise the club enough, I can't praise you guys enough for all the support I had because like I said, without this I wouldn't be where I am now.
"You can't do that on your own. You need friends, you need support, and I had that a lot, so it was very important for me."
Bamba is committed to continuing his career as a player for one more season and is in talks with Cardiff about renewing his deal, which is set to expire this summer.
"The plan is to carry on, that's for sure," he added.
"I want to do another year. I said it before, I'd like to go out on my own terms if I can. I feel fit, I've been training four months and a half now with the first team so obviously doing the pre-season will be massive.
"If I do a pre-season, I'll be even fitter, so that's the plan. We are talking with the club, hopefully we are going to reach an agreement, but I'm definitely going to do another year."
Asked if he will pursue coaching when his career is over, Bamba said: "Absolutely that's the plan. Hopefully it will go as well as my plan before.
"But you never know, when you go into coaching a lot of things can happen. But I just want to learn and I want to stay in the game, so I'll do one more year as a player while still learning the coaching and after that I'll be doing the coaching and hopefully management one day."
