Icardi To Make Inter Return Against Genoa
Mauro Icardi back in Inter's squad to face Genoa on Wednesday after nearly two months away from the club
Mauro Icardi will start when Inter travel to Genoa in Serie A on Wednesday, with head coach Luciano Spalletti confirming the striker's near two-month exile is at an end.
Icardi has not featured for Inter since a 1-0 win at Parma on February 9, with speculation over his future, a contract stand-off and conflicting fitness claims all playing a part in the ensuing saga.
The 26-year-old trained before the 1-0 weekend loss at home to Lazio but was told to "stay away" by Spalletti following reports of a fresh dressing room incident.
But the slate appears to be clean once more for the Argentina international, whose head coach was keen to present a united front at his pre-match news conference after fruitful work behind the scenes from chief executive Beppe Marotta.
"Mauro Icardi is available. The work done by Marotta has been instrumental in ensuring that all parties can take part in real and not virtual discussions," Spalletti said.
"This now means that Icardi is in a position to help the team.
"He will start. He's shown the right reaction mentally – something which is more important than the physical side of things.
"We'll see how long he'll be able to remain on the pitch and if we'll need to take him off.
"The squad is together as one. And a strong squad is something that defines Inter."
Inter remain third in Serie A, two points ahead of rivals AC Milan, although they might still rue missing the opportunity to take Lazio – five points back in fifth – out of the Champions League equation.
"We'll go again from our third-place position with all of our potential available," Spalletti added.
"This will allow us to fight right until the very end to reach our goal of qualifying for the Champions League."