"it feels great to be back on the field." Chelsea loanee Van Ginkel returns to football after 32 months of injury

Marco van Ginkel has made his first senior appearance since 2018 after coming through an injury hell which threatened to bring his career to a premature end.

Seen as one of the brightest young talents in European football, Chelsea snapped him up from Vitesse for a reported £8 million eight years ago.

However, he's made only 4 appearances for the Blues since then and has spent the majority of his time out on loan.

The 28-year-old is currently in the middle of his third loan spell with Dutch side PSV, but he has spent the last 32 months on the sidelines recovering from surgery to rebuild the ligaments in his knee.

He came off the bench during his team's 3-1 defeat to AZ.

Van Ginkel said: "It has been really hard, both emotionally and mentally. Therefore, it feels great to be back on the field."

While it's unlikely that the once highly-rated youngster will ever become a Chelsea first-team regular, it's good to see him back in action!

The Chelsea Twitter account also congratulated the loanee on his return:

Marco van Ginkel played for PSV tonight, his first match for 32 months following a lengthy injury lay-off.

Congratulations and welcome back, Marco! 💪 pic.twitter.com/IY8jrzZ6pP

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 13, 2021