Welcome back Eduardo

What a joy it was to see Eduardo scoring goals for Arsenal on Monday evening. It may not have felt like a joy to Cardiff fans or other fans who don’t like the Gunners, but actually, his return is a joy to football fans everywhere.

Horrific

The injury he suffered back in February last year was probably the most horrific one I have seen in forty odd years of watching the game. Even those close to the striker must have doubted whether he would ever return. Well, now he has and to bag two goals on his return was a dream come true for the twenty-five year old Brazilian born Croatia international.

After the game an emotional Eduardo said,

“It was the best day of my life – it was a special moment to score, very emotional. I celebrated by kissing my wedding ring – because my wife and daughter and family supported me through this.”

Not sure how the wife and daughter will feel about this being the best day of his life, but I’m sure we all know what he means! 🙂

In the 4-0 demolition of Cardiff he opened the scoring for Arsenal with a header and then scored the team’s third goal from the penalty spot.

Comeback

This ended a pretty good few days for Eduardo as he also made his comeback for Croatia last week in their 2-1 win in Romania.

In a show of gratitude, after scoring his second goal, Eduardo ran over to the Arsenal fitness coach Tony Colbert and embraced him. Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger joked that, “I think Tony has spent more time with him than his wife. He deserved that kind of hug, and the physios as well. The doctors have done a tremendous job.”

Wenger went on to say that he had feared the worst for Eduardo after he sustained the injury,

“I’ve been in the job for a long time and seen a few players not come back from similar injuries. I had a little bit more scepticism than he had.”

He added,

“Everybody is very happy for him. This is the kind of game we love to play, and it was good to see them play with the handbrake off. He played a big part in that, and I’m very pleased for him. He’s been extremely strong mentally. I’ve never seen one minute of doubt in his mind, not one minute where he said ‘I don’t want to do this’. He is always wanting more. This guy is small but he has the mental strength of a mountain.”

Eduardo’s return was brought to an end when he was substituted midway through the second half with a slight hamstring problem. It is not believed likely to keep him out for any length of time.

Wenger has been missing his striker and seems pretty certain to use him regularly in the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League run-in.

“We’ll know at the end of the season how important his comeback is, but I’m very happy to have him back. He can play as a striker, on the flank, behind the striker, up front on his own. That is important for us.”

Whatever part Eduardo does play and however his career develops from here, I’m sure football fans around the world will join me in welcoming him back to the game. It is truly a good news story when such things are often hard to come by.

Score goals

If Eduardo plays regularly he will score goals. Thirteen in twenty three internationals and seventy three in a hundred and eleven for Dinamo Zagreb prove that. With Adebayor injured and Bendtner not being half the player he thinks he is, Eduardo’s return couldn’t have come at a better time for the strangely under-fire Arsenal boss.

Welcome back Eduardo.