After being dogged by an injury and reported issues with Antonio Conte last season, it’s fair to say that Chelsea ace David Luiz was overjoyed with his comeback on Monday.
The 31-year-old defender was limited to just 17 appearances in all competitions last season as a problematic knee injury and as noted by The Sun, a reported falling out with former boss Conte left him in a restricted role.
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However, Chelsea begin a new era under Maurizio Sarri next season with the current squad looking to make a fresh start and that began with a win over Perth Glory in a pre-season friendly on Monday with an early Pedro goal separating the two sides.
Luiz featured in the game as he looks to put his fitness and selection woes behind him, and he took to Instagram to share his delight at getting back out on the pitch for the Blues as he looks to prove his worth to his new boss and become a fixture of the line-up moving forward.
Given Sarri’s preferred style of play which is based on possession and technical quality, the Brazilian international arguably has much improved prospects of playing regularly next season and he’ll be keen to improve his fitness and form in pre-season to earn his spot in the side.
As seen in his caption below though, he was merely delighted to be back out on the pitch in the friendly outing and will now be eyeing many more outings in the upcoming campaign.