Squad

Balotelli: 'I'm fit'

After injuring his calf on 22 November, just before the trip to face Schalke 04, Mario Balotelli made his return to training with the full squad on Tuesday.

Here's some great news early on in the week: after completing an individualized programme over the last fortnight, Super Mario has pulled on his boots and taken to the training pitch with all his teammates. Two days ahead of the visit of Krasnodar - Le Gym's final European outing for the season - and five out from the trip to Paris, the number nine took part in a training session of technical exercises, possession play and set-pieces. 

"I'm fit," he said when talking to a Chinese journalist before the session. On whether he will take the field on Sunday, he was understandably evasive: "It's up to the manager, of course".

Above all the Italy international insisted that he doesn't make distinctions according to an opponent's pedigree. "Paris Saint-Germain, Toulouse, Lyon… for me, it's not the name that counts. We should carry ourselves the same way every weekend. I don't think of things in terms of big matches or small matches. I just want to win every one," he said to close out the interview that will be shown in the days to come on the club's new Weibo account.