Santiago Arias played 30 minutes of the victory on penalties (4-5) against Numancia, in the first friendly of the preseason. The Colombian entered the field of play in the 60th minute to replace Fran González, who had to retire after a blow, and scored one of the goals of the penalty shoot-out.
These minutes have meant Arias' return to the pitch 286 days later. In this time, the side has passed one of the worst seasons of his career. He left in September in search of minutes to Bayer Leverkusen, but an injury with Colombia as soon as the season started sent him to the operating room and caused him to miss almost the entire season and the Copa América with his national team.
The Colombian has returned to Atlético to finalize his recovery and the club has the intention to re-search for a loan That favors the interests of the club and the player, since Atlético currently has an excess of non-EU players, Arias being one of them, which places him among the first on the starting ramp.
For the moment, will continue training and taking minutes in the friendlies That will make him regain his strength and confidence for the next season, whether at Atlético or with another team.