Dortmund celebrating his lost son: Reus is back

55,094 pairs of hands were in the air applauding when Marco Reus returned to action for Borussia Dortmund after being out of the game for six months with an injury.

The Group F duel against Legia Warsaw (8-4) might not have been one of Dortmund' s highlights on the international stage but for the 27-year-old striker though it was a milestone. To cap his return he delivered an assist and scored three of the games 12 goals which is a Champions League record. On top never before a team managed to score 14 goals against the same opponent in two games like Dortmund did against Warsaw (6-0 in the first leg).

Reus played his last game for the yellow-and-blacks in May 2016 before a serious injury prevented him from playing for Germany at the European Championship in France. Many doubted whether Reus would ever return to professional football as his comeback had to be postponed over and over again.

Now Reus is back in the yellow shirt after 185 days. The hugely talented player was given a phenomenal welcome. Thunderous applause rained down from the stands when he scored the fifth, sixth and eighth goals. "The value of Reus for Borussia can' t be overestimated," Dortmund' s former striker Karlheinz Riedle said.

Facts substantiate Riedle' s statement. Having scored 23 goals on the European stage, Reus is Dortmund' s number one striker. Moreover he has provided 31 assists since 2012 which also makes him Dortmund' s best. With him in the team Dortmund win far more games than without him.

"I' m very happy he' s back. We desperately need him if we are to achieve our objectives," Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang said.

Reus increases the quality of the team enormously. With Reus, Aubameyang, Mario Goetze, Andre Schuerrle and Ousmane Dembele in the squad, the 2011 and 2012 German champion can be a threat to any of the top dogs in European football. On December 6, Spanish giant Real Madrid might be the first major player to feel Dortmund' s new confidence and fire power. The duel against the Spaniards will be a final when it comes to the first place in the group.

For Reus, his comeback appears like a new life as a footballer. The striker has missed big international tournaments due to injury such as EURO 2016 and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

"It was a great moment for me. I' ve been working so hard in the last weeks and months. Now I hope I can help the team win titles," Reus said after his successful comeback.

Reus is one of Thomas Tuchel' s key-figures. "Last summer we lost three important players who joined other clubs such as Ilkay Guendogan. And all of a sudden there was a fourth one. It was a hard time for him and for us," Dortmund' s head coach said. Originally Tuchel wanted to make Reus his new team captain but had to change his plans when Reus was unable to play.

In the game against Warsaw, Reus was picked in the starting eleven after Tuchel rearranged his team almost totally after the 1-0 victory in the German "clasico" against Bayern Munich last Saturday. Dortmund' s star forwards Aubameyang and Andre Schuerrle were sent onto the pitch in the 72nd minute and had the chance to get used to playing alongside Reus again.

For the comeback man himself, the Warsaw game, which was almost like a practice match rather than Champions League duel, was the perfect stage to make a reappearance. During the last month Reus went through intensive rehabilitation training. He for instance consulted the same Dutch osteopath that Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich) is also working with.

"I wanted to be fully fit when I came back. I' ve tried far too often when I wasn' t ready" Reus said.

Now Reus is hoping to return to Bundesliga action this coming weekend when Dortmund travels to Eintracht Frankfurt. "It' s what I' ve be working for for months. It was great being in the starting eleven and it was an important step for me. Shortly before the game I got the news that I will be team-captain," Reus said after he stayed on the pitch for the entire 90 minutes.

"Every game will help me to get back into best shape. Playing competitive games is a little bit harder than just doing some work in training. But from now on it will be full throttle ahead in the race for the German title."

Like Reus Borussia coach Tuchel was happy about Reus' return. "The game was not too intense so he could go for the full 90 minutes," Tuchel said. Enditem