It was 22 minutes into the second half when Marcelo Gallardo He called River’s “18”. It was his time to enter the game. It was the moment that Gonzalo Martinez had waited during his long recovery. And one day he Pity returned to play after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left kneea serious injury that he had suffered in a friendly played in January in the United States.
“The truth is that he was missed. When these things happen to you, the first thing you want is to play again, to share and fight on the field with your teammates. It took a long time, but we are here, which is the most important thing, and to be able to help the team by playing football, which is what I like the most.“said the attacking midfielder before the game.
“The recovery was not easy, but I have a great group that was with me at all times. “I always had a positive head”he stressed. “I know I have much more to give and I am happy to return in these instances and hopefully help the team.”he assured.
Why did it take so long for your return to the courts? “You have to respect times and not rush because it would have hurt me”Pity reflected.
He had received the medical discharge just before River traveled to Belo Horizonte for the first leg of the Copa Libertadores semi-final against Atlético Mineiro, but he was not among those called up. And this Friday he started in the bank against Defensa y Justicia until he joined. He was active from the start, he teamed up well with Lanzini and had a free kick that went close to a post.
For River, the momentous match is coming up on Tuesday at 9:30 p.m., at the Monumental, where they will have to go for the epic comeback from 0-3 in Belo Horizonte. When in the official broadcast of last night’s game he was asked for a message to the fans, he told them: “Let them rest assured that we are going to do our best to turn the series around”.