Inteer midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu is aiming to be fully fit and available for next week’s Champions League quarterfinal first leg match away to Benfica.
This according to today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews, who report that the 29-year-old is pushing to make his return to training in the next day or two, and that his target is the first leg of the tie against Benfica.
Calhanoglu has missed two matches for Inter following a thigh strain picked up whilst on international duty with Turkey during the break.
The former AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen man was out for the Serie A loss to Fiorentina last weekend as well as the Coppa Italia semifinal first leg against Juventus earlier this week.
Moreover, there is no doubt that the Turk will also miss out on tomorrow evening’s Serie A clash away to Salernitana with his injury.
However, the Gazzetta report, Calhanoglu is making a fair bit of progress towards his recovery, and he could already be aiming to be fit in time to face Benfica at the Estadio da Luz next Tuesday.
It had previously been reported that the midfielder would in all likelihood miss out on the first leg against Benfica due to the timeline of his recovery being around 15-20 days, and that he would be more likely to be available for the second leg of the tie the following week.
However, the Gazzetta report that things are now starting to look more optimistic given the signs of recovery, and that the 29-year-old should already be back in training soon.
Calhanoglu’s injury has been confirmed by the club to be a strain to the adductor muscles in his right thigh, based on assessments by the team medical staff.
Calhanoglu has made 37 appearances for the Nerazzurri across all competitions so far this season.
