Nine months. Nine long months. Victim of a ruptured cruciate ligament in his right knee on January 2, against OGC Nice (2-1), Martin Terrier could appear in the Stade Rennais group for the derby against FC Nantes, Sunday evening (8 p.m. 45), at the end of the 7th day of Ligue 1. It was Bruno Génésio who announced it this Friday, in a pre-match press conference, affirming that he was “competitive”.
But be careful, the Rouge et Noir do not want to rush his return. Consequently, he will not start against the Canaries. He could nevertheless appear during the match. “What is certain is that he is not ready to start. He may possibly return during the match. How long ? I don’t know, it’s difficult. Around twenty minutes maximum,” confided the Breton coach to journalists. And as is generally the case for a player who returns after a long convalescence, the Breton team wishes to be patient with the 26-year-old Frenchman. “We should not expect wonders from Martin on Sunday, nor Thursday (against Villarreal, editor’s note), nor against Paris. It’s been almost nine months since he last stepped on the pitch, he’s very good but it takes time to get back into the rhythm of the match, the benchmarks,” explained Bruno Génésio. Before specifying that he had not lost anything “technically” and that that was “the main thing”.
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But if we shouldn’t count on him too much in the next matches – still! -, it is certain that his return will do a lot of good, in the long term, at Stade Rennes. Because before his injury, the player who played for RC Strasbourg Alsace walked on water, carrying his team on his shoulders, at least offensively. After concluding the 2021-2022 financial year with 21 goals and 4 assists on the clock, he (already) recorded 9 goals and 4 goals in just 16 championship matches. That is to say. Moreover, his name was circulating for the France team with a view to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. But ultimately, Didier Deschamps preferred to select other attackers, with different profiles. “Maybe he doesn’t like Martin’s profile, or there is something else and that’s where we have to wonder. Deeply,” regretted Florian Maurice, Rennes sports director at the end of December 2022.
In any case, with his versatility – he can play on the left side, supporting a center forward or at the forefront -, his technical qualities, his ability to combine in small spaces, to eliminate and conclude the actions, Martin Terrier will allow Stade Rennes to be a little more threatening. And his return could even significantly transform the game of the Breton team. Indeed, since the start of the season, no attacker has established himself as the team’s regular scorer. Arnaud Kalimuendo has only scored one goal (in 4 appearances) and Amine Gouiri has as many (but in 7 matches). We could get a glimpse of what he can bring this Sunday evening, in the last quarter of an hour of the derby.