The week of the victory against Real Madrid was not only that of moral rearmament of the workforce, that of consolidation of Vicente Moreno as a First Class coach or the umpteenth confirmation of the worth of players as Sergi Darder, Óscar Melendo or Raúl de Tomás. It was also, and will be, important for Espanyol because some first steps were taken that should lead to a important news after the break: debut of the qualified by many as Star reinforcement of the season, Yangel Herrera.
At the beginning of that last week, the Venezuelan midfielder began to perform exercises on the lawn, and also to work in part with the group. Without going any further, and despite the usual secrecy that characterizes Moreno's sessions, he was among the players present in the 15-minute training session open to the press, last Friday, as can be seen in the photograph that illustrates these lines. A dynamic that It has continued this week – Esports Cope reported that on Wednesday it completed all the activity –, and that the fact that Espanyol does not play again until Monday 18 contributes to achieving that Herrera aims for discharge against Cádiz, in the Nuevo Mirandilla.
The break will have been crucial for his full recovery from injury to the right tibia –A minimal fracture of the anterior lip of the distal end, to be exact– that suffered on June 17 during the Venezuela-Colombia dispute (0-0) of the Copa América group stage. And that the vinotinto could alter his rehabilitation process, by placing him in a 50-player pre-list for the commitments of these two weeks before Brazil, Ecuador and Chile. But left it out of the call final.
With his debut with Espanyol, and his return to the pitch four months and one day after his injury, Herrera is called to become one of the footballers who make a difference in the parakeet, as it did the last two seasons in a Granada that cursed its luck when Manchester City agreed to give it up towards Cornellà-El Prat on the last day of the summer market. It so happens that his penultimate match against the Nasrid team had Cádiz as a rival and that he is two appointments from complete 100 meetings in Spain: He has 78 in the First Division, 12 in the Europa League and eight in the Copa del Rey.
LaLiga Santander
* Data updated as of October 7, 2021
In a more domestic environment, the irruption of Yangel Herrera will lead to a new movement of footballers in an increasingly crowded midfield Espanyol, which for days has presented three pieces, with Sergi darder as fixed and the appearance depending on the match context of Óscar Melendo, Manu Morlanes, Keidi Bare and Fran Mérida. The versatility of the Venezuelan to act as an inside, attacking midfielder and even pivot You can give the parakeet set a new twist.