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Villarreal have confirmed that forward Roberto Soldado has been given the all-clear by doctors to resume training six months after undergoing surgery on his knee. Soldado tore his anterior cruciate ligament and external meniscus in his right knee during the Trofeo Herrera meeting with Deportivo on Aug. 9. The 31-year-old appeared in good spirits as he joined his teammates in training for the first time on Tuesday afternoon. The former Tottenham and Valencia player took to Twitter to express his joy. He wrote: "Delighted to announce that I've been given the all-clear by doctors! Thanks to everyone for their support! The time has come to repay it." Soldado was among La Liga's top scorers while at Valencia but struggled to make an impact with Premier League side Tottenham. The London club sold him to Villarreal in the summer of 2015 and he scored 10 goals and set up 15 more in 49 appearances for the Yellow Submarine in his first season at the club. Soldado's return comes two weeks after Villarreal sold forward Alexandre Pato to Chinese Super League club Tianjin Quanjian for a reported €18 million. Pato had endured a difficult season, scoring just five goals in 22 appearances in all competitions. Villarreal, coached by Fran Escriba, are sixth in La Liga and host Roma in the Europa League round-of-32 first leg on Thursday.
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