Luis Diaz‘s wife, Gera Ponce, has detailed his journey to recovery from a long-term knee injury, with his return at Leeds “worth every second.”
Diaz made his long-awaited return on Monday night, as he replaced Mohamed Salah for the final 10 minutes of Liverpool’s 6-1 victory at Leeds.
It came over six months after his initial injury at Arsenal in October, having suffered a recurrence of the issue upon returning to training towards the end of the year.
Though there is a long way to go until he is considered ready to start, it was a big step for Diaz as he got 12 touches of the ball, took one strong challenge and got into smart positions in attack.
Watching on from the stands was his wife, Gera, and their family, who held a Colombian flag aloft with pride when he came onto the pitch.
After the game, Ponce shared a video documenting Diaz’s recovery on her Instagram story, along with an emotional message of support.
“How immense the admiration and pride that you make us feel,” she wrote.
“The most sublime moment after all this recovery time is seeing you step back onto the pitch.
“That sensation that we missed so much, and that obviously you, more than anyone, longed for.
“Today I confirm that all the sacrifice and the difficult moments throughout these months have been worth every second, that god is good and that his timing is perfect.
“I love you so much and I am so happy to know that you are back doing what makes you so happy. Come on my champion!”
In his own Instagram post, Diaz explained that he was “so happy to be back,” while in his post-match press conference Jurgen Klopp admitted that he had “missed him [for] so long.”
“It’s just nice to see him play, to be honest,” he manager said.
Diaz is likely to build up his minutes in the coming weeks, with the chance of a first start back next month, as Liverpool face eight more games this season.
The next step will be another bench role when Nottingham Forest visit Anfield on Saturday – with his wife no doubt cheering him on again.
