It’s been a long road to recovery for Columbus Crew SC center back Gaston Sauro. The defender tore his posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in May of 2016 and declined surgery to remedy the ailment. That decision came back to haunt the defender just four months later. Following rehabilitation for his PCL, Sauro began noticing some new pain surface in the knee he worked so hard to rebuild.

Doctors told the defender that this new ailment was worsened by his original condition. Sauro was informed that if he elected for surgery this time around, that he would have a 50 percent chance of playing soccer again. The defender took his chances and had a successful ligament transplant.

He never abandoned his teammates throughout the process, showing up to as many games as possible and providing constant entertainment on social media.

His road to recovery ended on Sunday evening in Kansas City when Sauro entered into the match in the 76th minute, relieving Cristian Martinez. The defender received tremendous fanfare from several spectators.

Cool moment as Gaston Sauro comes on in the 75th minute. Was given a 50 percent chance of ever playing again in late 2016 and, 18 months later, is back on the field. #CrewSC — Andrew Erickson (@AEricksonCD) May 27, 2018

Congrats to Gaston Sauro for getting back after nearly two years out of the game with a knee injury. Berhalter said they were hoping to get him action in the Open Cup, but he’s needed today. Such a great guy. #CrewSC — Patrick Murphy (@_Pat_Murphy) May 27, 2018

U can’t do anything different than Gastón Sauro’s last appearance was in October 2016 ... long road and fight... be happy for a warrior!! #CrewSC #MLS @RobAbramowitz @GlennCrooks pic.twitter.com/It4L7lhIwz — John E. Rojas (@jrojasa75) May 28, 2018

GASTON SAURO SIGHTING. I REPEAT: WE HAVE A GASTON SAURO SIGHTING #SaveTheCrew #Crew96 — Christian Rudloff (@MUSinfonian) May 27, 2018

Current and former teammates couldn’t hold back, expressing joy in their colleagues achievement.

So happy to see Gaston back on the field! Dude is a machine and has worked so hard for this moment! #myneighbor #CrewSC — Brad Stuver (@brad_stuver) May 28, 2018

Gaston is back #SKCvCLB — Ola Kamara (@OlaKamara) May 28, 2018

We fight, we fight, we fight. What an effort. And how about this guy Gaston Sauro. Over a year out and comes in to help the team get the result . #warrior #crewsc #cleansheet — William Trapp (@wil_trapp) May 28, 2018

Sauro is revered by Black & Gold fans, teammates and media. To see a triumph of the human spirit following a devastating injury is remarkable. I think we all can agree that we are indeed fans of Gaston.