Copa America: Alexis Sanchez on track after injury, says Reinaldo Rueda

Alexis Sanchez's performance against Japan at the Copa America pleased Chile coach Reinaldo Rueda.

Chile coach Reinaldo Rueda believes Alexis Sanchez is on the "right track" after the attacker scored in a 4-0 win over Japan on Monday.

Sanchez scored for the first time since January in the two-time defending Copa America champion's victory in Sao Paulo. The Manchester United attacker was sidelined late during the Premier League season with a knee injury, but was on the scoresheet in his first appearance since early May.

REPORT | Japan 0 Chile 4

Rueda was pleased with what he saw from Sanchez, who netted just twice in 27 games for United in 2018-19. "He's on the right track. We wanted to reserve him for the next games, but he's recovered well," he told a news conference.

Chile started its title defence in style as Eduardo Vargas netted a brace to go with goals from Erick Pulgar and Sanchez. Rueda was happy with his team, which moved top of Group C ahead of Uruguay.

"Chile have very experienced players, they know each other very well, with a base of many years," he said. "The current champions usually make a bad debut, but we worked hard not to suffer with that."