Marcos Rojo’s return to action has put a broad smile on the face of Manchester United team-mate Ander Herrera, who rated his friend as one of the “top five central defenders in the world”
prior to suffering the devastating knee injury that ruled him out for seven months.
Prior to that bitter blow, suffered during the second half of our UEFA Europa League quarter-final second leg against Anderlecht, Rojo was enjoying the best period of his Reds career alongside Eric Bailly at the heart of the defence and registered his 41st appearance of the campaign that night.
The knee injury prevented Marcos from featuring in the club’s Stockholm success against AFC Ajax, yet he was on cheering from the dugout and remained with the squad throughout his rehabilitation, journeying to the USA for the pre-season tour and travelling with the lads to games this term.
Earlier this month Rojo made a much-welcomed return to action with an excellent display against FC Basel in the Champions League, which he followed up with another encouraging performance during Tuesday night’s dramatic 4-2 win over Watford, despite conceding a second-half penalty.
Rojo’s return is a big boost for Jose Mourinho ahead of the festive season and Herrera is delighted for his amigo, who he had warm words for in an interview with Premier League Productions.
“Last season, when he got injured, I told him that he was in the top five central defenders in the world because his play was outstanding and he was in amazing form,”
Ander explained. “I felt so sorry for him because he got injured in what was the best moment of his career.
“He has been focused on being back and being as fit as possible, so I'm very, very happy for him. Now, he has to be careful because when you have a knee injury, you have to be careful with the rest of your body, but he's doing amazing.”
"When he got injured I told him that he was in the top five central defenders in the world," says Herrera
Marcos was an unused substitute against Newcastle United on 18 November, when Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic both returned from injury. But his comeback arrived a few days later in Switzerland when he impressed against FC Basel, both in defence and attack after hitting a thunderous effort onto the crossbar from range, earning praise from the manager afterwards.
“Rojo played very well. I think he could have been playing a couple of weeks ago. But we didn’t need to rush him into that situation. He was training with the team for quite a long time. We knew Marcos was ready – the doubt was lasting for 90 minutes. He controlled the game very well so I’m happy.”
The only blemish was when referee Jon Moss adjudged him to have brought down Roberto Pereyra in the penalty area, leading to Troy Deeney converting from the spot. Nevertheless, it’s great that our tattooed no.5 is back and he will only improve as his fitness builds in the coming months.
Only Mourinho has the answer to that question ahead of Saturday’s tea-time kick-off at the Emirates Stadium. The boss played with three centre-backs in midweek, with Victor Lindelof and Chris Smalling also catching the eye and they’ve been his preferred pairing in the last two league games.
It remains to be seen if Eric Bailly and Phil Jones are available for selection following their recent injury problems, and the manager may reveal all during his pre-match press conference on Friday.