Repairing cracked hopper on Walker mower

I shook my Googler at this question ask in many different ways with no solutions out there. Am I the only one with a cracked hopper on my MTGHS?

I bought this 2012 MTGHS48 about 2 years ago and it had a small crack on the bottom of the hopper where the bumper contacts the hopper frame. Previous owner had patched it on the inside. Very poorly I might add. It kept the grass from escaping, but no extra support to keep it from cracking more.

My question is how to repair the crack properly?...

Repairing cracked hopper on Walker mower