Last October, Borussia Dortmund and German international Marco Reus delivered a heartbreaking statement when speaking with GQ, saying that he “would give all (his) money away” to be free of injuries and return to fitness after his latest setback, a devastating ruptured cruciate ligament in the 2017 DFB-Pokal Final.
It’s certainly not a stretch to say that when Reus is healthy, he’s one of the 10 finest footballers on the planet. However, such is the length of his injury history that the 28-year-old hasn’t even amassed 30 caps for Germany, which is nothing short of an absolute travesty.
But on February 10, Reus finally returned to make his first appearance of the season in Dortmund’s 2-0 victory over Hamburger SV. He played again on Feb. 15 in the Europa League and then went 79 minutes in Dortmund’s 1-0 victory over Gladbach on Sunday.
Reus’ third appearance of the campaign resulted in his first goal — the match-winner in the 32nd minute. As is generally the case with any Reus goal, it was absolutely world-class.
(Goal at 0:22)
Reus’ return comes at the perfect moment for Dortmund. Although Bayern Munich has all but claimed the Bundesliga title, the club sits second and is battling the likes of Leverkusen, Leipzig, Schalke and Eintracht Frankfurt for next season’s Champions League qualification.
Please be careful. Photo: @FootyAccums | Twitter
They could also land some hardware in the shape of the Europa League, where they hold a 3-2 advantage over Atalanta following their Round of 32 first leg.
But after missing the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016 through injury, what’s most important for fans of the beautiful game is that Reus stays without significant injury for the next 118 days.
That’ll bring us to June 17, when Germany opens the defense of its World Cup against Mexico in Moscow.
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