Arjen Robben’s return to the Eredivisie on Sunday was definitely not a success. The wing forward from FC Groningen dropped out against PSV (1-3) after just 29 minutes with a groin injury. The intensive preparation seemed to have been in vain, although Robben stated that he was not thinking of stopping. Royston Drenthe, who experienced the offside player for two seasons at Real Madrid, is sympathetic to Robben’s loss.

Drenthe can understand Robben’s doubts very well. He himself returned to Sparta Rotterdam in 2018 in professional football. “You’ll have to get used to it anyway and really turn the knob again, because you’ve been working on other things for a long time,’ says the former player of Feyenoord and Real, among others, in conversation with The Telegraph. “The basis is out of your life and you have to create a new one. Physically, it’s hard. Because when will your body run out? And you still can? You can train so hard, take good care of yourself and watch your diet.”

“But there may come a time when the body says to you, no matter how much you push me. Mentally it takes a lot of energy, but Arjen can do that. He is a next level professional. The professional on top of the professional,” adds the hopeful Drenthe. The sprints that Robben made in the catacombs on Sunday did have some effect on the laughing muscles of Drenthe. “Arjen, Arjen, Arjen… I can see it all in front of me, right there in that corridor. But this is great. He’s a topper, and in this respect, he’s a case apart. That’s always decorated him in soccer. He’s always been an example to me. In how to deal with the profession of professional footballer. He’s also the type who could get angry, because he’s not allowed on the field before the warm-up.”

Drenthe is trying to find an explanation for yet another injury to Robben. “The turning and turning in the field, cannot be compared to the training that preceded it. At the first, the craziest injuries can occur. Football is often underestimated and cannot be compared to other sports, such as running”. Drenthe does understand why many people are sceptical about Robben’s return. “How on earth could you get hurt in the process?people often think. But the moments in football, with the duels, the short sprints, having to turn on full intensity or change direction all at once, is incomparable. In terms of content, it won’t be Arjen’s fault, he’ll be in top and really top condition”.

Robben’s fanaticism does not in any way surprise Drenthe, who refers to their shared period with Real. “He was like that back then. He was always enormously fanatic, even with table tennis”, recalls the midfielder of the amateur association Kozakken Boys. “Even then he was special, because most of the left feet, like me, were right-handed. He was left-handed. Everybody knew how he was doing. Also because of his injury history. He always did what was best for his body. You saw him in the gym never bench presses, for example, but he did the right things, which made him and his body stronger. These kinds of things can happen on a return. I hope and I think he won’t leave it at that”, Drenthe concludes with a note of optimism.