A torn ankle ligament, adductor problems, a toe injury, hamstring injuries, osteitis pubis and muscular problems: all have conspired to give us less Marco Reus in our lives than we should ever be happy with. The 27-year-old doesn’t even have 30 caps for Germany yet, which is an offense to the footballing gods.
Injuries haven’t hindered Reus’s potential, he’s been distinctly world-class since his days with Borussia Monchengladbach, but they have deprived us of witnessing a complete season of magic from the Dortmund native. The 2012 German Footballer of the Year has enough attacking talent to be a Ballon d’Or winner, and his immaculate return from his latest injury setback only goes to show how instrumental he’s been in the rise of BVB.
He returned to play a significant role against Legia Warsaw in the Champions League on November 22, a match which has since entered the record books as the highest scoring game in the history of the Champions League. If an award were handed out for the accomplishment, it would almost certainly go to Reus.
Marco Reus' game by numbers vs. Legia Warsaw:
88% pass accuracy
3 shots on target
3 goals
2 chances created
1 assistDream comeback. pic.twitter.com/VAbv7y5bno
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) November 23, 2016
Starting his first Bundesliga match of the year against Gladbach on December 3, Reus was on another level. His three assists in the 4-1 victory were generated with a liquid back heel, a nutmeg/cutback combination and a subtle through ball to his bromance, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
In not even 180 minutes of action, Reus had registered three goals and four assists.
On Wednesday, Reus earned Dortmund the top spot in their Champions League group with a late goal against Real Madrid. It was later revealed that Reus, and this shouldn’t come as a surprise, almost missed the match because he’d been ill for three days beforehand.
Mor Aubameyang Reus for the record! Dortmund's 21st goal this group stage clinches Group F over Real. #UCL https://t.co/IAFnCDkxGE
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 7, 2016
Having been ruled out of Euro 2016 with what German manager Joachim Low revealed as “massive health problems”, it’s difficult to imagine Reus ever staying healthy enough to surpass his best total of 33 league appearances — that was way back in 2009-10.
2016, from an attacking midfield perspective, was dominated by the likes of Riyad Mahrez, Andres Iniesta, Kevin De Bruyne and Paul Pogba, but Marco Reus deserves a place in the conversation.
