Pastore back for Montpellier?
07/02/2012
PSG star Javier Pastore is working hard to recover from a thigh strain and coach Carlo Ancelotti believes he could make an early return to action in time for Week 24's crunch clash with title rivals Montpellier on February 19.
Pastore tore a thigh muscle in PSG's round-of-32 Coupe de France clash in Sablé on January 20, but while club doctors predicted an absence from action that would see him miss the visit of second-placed Montpellier in Week 24 - a match whose outcome could play a huge part in PSG's bid to win a first Ligue 1 title since 1994 - indications are that Pastore could take the field.
Recently returned from two weeks in Qatar receiving specialist treatment on his thigh, an upbeat Pastore says that he is already almost at the point of running again.
Pastore: 'Getting better every day'
"I'm hoping to get moving again very soon," the 24-year-old club website psg.fr. "I'm doing a lot better than I was and I'm getting better every day. My thigh is no longer giving me any grief in my daily life and we'll continue this programme over the coming days so that I can make my return to action as soon as possible."
With Montpellier matching PSG blow for blow and refusing to allow Ancelotti's men to widen their three-point lead atop the table, the Week 24 clash at the Parc des Princes could well be PSG's chance to pull ahead, and the Italian tactician believes that his star player "should be ready in time" as Ligue 1's best attack comes to test France's toughest defence.