Tenacious Aranguiz worth the wait for Leverkusen
After almost eight months on the sidelines with a torn Achilles tendon in his left foot, Chile international midfielder Charles Aranguiz is making up for lost time at Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
'Good for my confidence'
The 27-year-old has featured in Die Werkself's last three matches and on Saturday made his full Bundesliga debut in a clinical 3-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.
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"All the time on the pitch helps me," Aranguiz told a group of Chilean journalists after a win which took Leverkusen above Hertha Berlin into third place. "Be it five minutes, 15 minutes - I'm trying to enjoy it all. I felt good today. At the start it was quite tough because I'd spent a lot of time out and it was a very tactical encounter. It was tough to find space, but it was good for my confidence."
Modesty to one side, Aranguiz's performance itself was not illustrative of a man lacking in self-belief. Indeed, despite going into the game with only 19 Bundesliga minutes under his belt, the 2015 Copa America winner completed more passes (46), won more tackles (nine) and covered more ground (12.35 kilometres) than any other player on the pitch at the BayArena.
Watch: Match reaction to Leverkusen vs Eintracht
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