Gustavo Bou makes his return

The New England Revolution have been without a boatload of players and that includes one of their Designated Players, Gustavo Bou. Luckily for the Revs, the striker returned to the field on Sunday.

Bou made his first appearance since July 16 on Sunday after dealing with a leg injury. The 32-year-old played 45 minutes and tallied 20 touches and two shots. He was unable to lift New England to victory but showed what the Revs have been missing.

Carles Gil floated a beautiful ball to Bou who nearly put the ball away. The striker is someone who opponents have to keep an eye on with his ability to score from long range and weave through the back line.

Midfielder Tommy McNamara talked about Bou’s importance to the roster after the match.

“[Gustavo Bou] is a very important player for us,” McNamara said. “He’s scored a lot of goals since he’s been here, possibly even the leading goal scorer since he’s joined the team, so it’s important. It’s good that he’s finally back up 45 minutes and was dangerous at times when he was in there. So, it’s positive for us.”

Bou is the team’s leading scorer with seven goals this season.

Still, head coach and sporting director Bruce Arena said that Bou still needs some time to re-adjust after being out for so long.

“[Gustavo Bou] did okay,” Arena stated. “He needs obviously a lot more work. He’s been out a long time.”

With the Revs playing on Wednesday and Sunday, it will be interesting to see how New England utilizes Bou. While Bou’s minutes might need to be managed after returning from injury, the Revolution may not have that luxury.

New England is currently in 9th place and is below the playoff line. These next two games will be some of the most important of the season.

But having Bou back is important as the Revolution hope to make a playoff run. His goal-scoring ability has been greatly missed.