Umar Sadiq made his return to competitive action for Real Sociedad as the Basque Country outfit played out a 1-1 draw with Girona on the opening weekend of the 2023-24 La Liga season.
The 26-year-old Nigerian had been out of action since September last year when he suffered a ruptured crucial ligament injury that ruled him out for the rest of the 2022-23 season after joining from Almeria and scored on his debut in a 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid.
He however made his comeback during pre-season this summer, playing against Sporting Lisbon and Bayer Leverkusen before sitting out friendlies against fellow La Liga sides Atletico and Real Betis.
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— Real Sociedad ???????? ???????? (@RealSociedadEN) August 12, 2023
Sadiq started on the bench against Girona and came on for Sociedad captain Mikel Oyarzabal in the 74th minute. In his 16 minutes on the pitch, he produced two total shots, one successful dribble attempt, eight touches, one accurate pass and won 100% of his aerial duels (three out of three).
Japan forward Takefusa Kubo first scored for Sociedad in the fifth minute of play while Artem Dovbyk equalised for Girona in the 72nd minute.
Sadiq will be hoping to stay fit enough for the 2023-24 season as Real Sociedad make a return to the UEFA Champions League for the first time in a decade after finishing in fourth place last season behind Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
