Rupérez returns to Zubieta group training after long ordeal | OneFootball

AS reports that Real Sociedad have brought Iñaki Rupérez back into full group work at Zubieta on Tuesday, ending a long spell out. The right back from Navarra trained with the squad as the run-in begins.

He had earned a place in the first-team plans as the second right back behind Aramburu. This was his first session under Pellegrino Matarazzo as the club enter the final month of competition.

On 25 August the club announced a left meniscus injury sustained in a friendly with Bournemouth on nine August. Conservative treatment did not deliver the expected progress, so surgery was chosen in late November.

An update in February said rehabilitation was slower than planned due to a post-surgical complication, an infection acquired in the operating theatre. That setback further delayed his return.

Last week Matarazzo signalled that the defender was improving and would begin training with the team this week. He added it would be the first time he had Rupérez in a session and that he was excited to start working with him. That preview came before the Sevilla match.

After this initial step back with the group, Rupérez now aims to regain match sharpness. He will try to make a squad in the four remaining matchdays, against Betis, Girona, Valencia and Espanyol.

Source: AS