Antonio Valencia has spoken of an amazing gesture from Sir Alex Ferguson which aided him during his injury lay-off for Manchester United.
The Ecuadorian had a successful start to life at Old Trafford having joined from Wigan in 2009, but his second season at the club was heavily affected by a serious leg break against Rangers in the Champions League.
Valencia was seriously setback by the break but defied the odds to feature for United in the Champions League final in the same season.
His remarkable comeback was down to the hard work of himself and the club medical staff, but Valencia believes a gesture from legendary manager Ferguson also had a big part to play.
Reflecting on his United career after a decade at the club, Valencia spoke of his horror injury but thanked his former manager for the support he showed him.
"In my second season, I suffered a broken leg against Rangers in the Champions League. Badly broken," Valencia recalled to the ManUtd website.
"I had my operation and then just two days later I’d been discharged from hospital and was at home resting.
"The doorbell rang. My partner answered the door and there was Sir Alex Ferguson and a team official offering me all their support, telling me to not worry.
"Stay calm and concentrate on recovering fully. We’ll be waiting for you.
"For me this was a really important show of support. An incredible reaction.
"I was back six months later and I played in the Champions League final."
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