West Ham defender Fabian Balbuena made his long-awaited comeback from a knee injury as he started for the Under 23s against Blackburn Rovers last night.
The Hammers lost 3-1 on the night but the Paraguayan would have been delighted to get back on the pitch.
Supporters on Twitter were happy to see Balbuena’s return to action:
Balbuena returning back to fitness is huge. He was a huge miss when out over the January and February period; hence why we have conceded so many more goals with him out the team. Ogbonna has performed well in recent weeks but nowhere near Balbuena’s level in terms of consistency.
— Josh Verrills (@WestHamJoshV) 4 March 2019
It’s looking so good for West ham . Balbuena back . I can not remember having quality choices for positions . Am l dreaming ⚒️
— ToneHammer (@tone_hammer) 4 March 2019
THE GENERAL
— ⚒ (@ReliableRice) 4 March 2019
— Connor Delaney (@ConnorDel03) 4 March 2019
Welcome back General! Missed ya.
— ⚒⚒TonyCOYI⚒⚒ (@CoyiTony) 4 March 2019
Good to see him playing again! Before he was injured he was first choice in central defence also ngside Diop but due to Ogbonna’s recent good form will he go straight back into the side or should he.
I see Johnson is playing too!!— Oldhammer (@RogerCaxton) 4 March 2019
Never thought I’d say it but he doesn’t get back in ahead of Ogbonna at the moment for me, Ogbonna has done well in recent weeks & it’s now up to Balbuena to wait for his chance again.
— Woody (@HammersFan02380) 5 March 2019
The 27-year-old has been out since December after undergoing surgery on a knee problem. In his absence, though, Angelo Ogbonna has developed a good partnership with Issa Diop at the heart of West Ham’s defence.
Since Balbuena’s last game in the 2-0 home defeat to Watford before Christmas, the Hammers have played 11 games in the league, conceding 14 goals.
In that run, they let in just two goals in games against Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City, coming out with four points out of nine against those ‘big six’ clubs.
Balbuena may, therefore, have to wait for his chance to get back into the starting eleven.
