Herrera: I told Rojo he was in the top 5 central defenders in the world

Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera could barely hold back his excitement about the return of Marcos Rojo from long-term injury, and he has revealed that he thinks the Argentinean holds the potential to be one of the best defenders in the world.  

Rojo, 27, ruptured his cruciate ligament in his left knee in April, but made his comeback against FC Basel last week.

Herrera, however, has advised Rojo to take it easy in the coming months in bid to recover fully.

“Last season, when he got injured, I told him that he was in the top five central defenders in the world because his play was outstanding and he was in amazing form.” Herrera told Premier League Productions.

“I felt so sorry for him because he got injured in what was the best moment of his career.

“He has been focused on being back and being as fit as possible, so I’m very, very happy for him. Now, he has to be careful because when you have knee injury, you have to be careful with the resit of your body, but he’s doing amazing.”

The Argentinean produced a stable performance against the Swiss club and then was rested in the following clash against Briton & Hove Albion before playing the full 90 minutes in United’s dramatic 4-2 victory over Warford on Tuesday. 

Man United manager Jose Mourinho was equally ecstatic having his defensive options boosted just in time for the busy festive period in late December. The Portuguese admitted that he could have used Rojo much earlier but was careful not to rush his return.

Mourinho said after the match against Basel: “Rojo played very well. He could have been playing a couple of weeks ago. But we didn’t need to rush him into that situation.

“He was training with the team for quite some time. We knew Marcos was ready – the doubt was lasting for 90 minutes. He controlled the game very well so I’m happy.”

United now have a difficult string of challenges waiting for them as they travel to the Emirates on Saturday before hosting Manchester City at Old Trafford a week later. Rojo is expected to play in at least one of those matches.  

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