Gonzalo Rodriguez was thrilled to make his comeback for Villarreal in their superb 3-0 defeat of Valencia on Saturday.
The Argentina international defender has been missing for seven months with a knee injury and was given a late cameo by coach Manuel Pellegrini.
Rodriguez said: "I am very happy and very grateful to everyone for their support. I know I'm not yet capable of playing 90 minutes, but gradually I will be.
"I also want to offer my support to Fabricio Fuentes."
Fuentes suffered a knee injury last week and Villarreal's players all showed their support for their teammate by sporting 'Courage, Fabri' t-shirts on Saturday.