On Tuesday AS Roma captain Francesco Totti had his first real training session since breaking his leg in mid-February, fuelling optimism he will be back for Italy's World Cup campaign.
Totti went jogging and did some stretching and ball-possession exercises with his team-mates, before taking part in a short game.
The player broke his left leg and strained ankle ligaments during Roma's 1-0 victory over Empoli on February 19, sparking fears the Azzurri would be without their best player at Germany 2006.
But he responded well to treatment and now aims to be back in action for the first leg of the Coppa Italia final against Inter Milan, on May 3. That would give him over a month to regain full match fitness before Italy's World Cup opener against Ghana on June 12.
Germany 2006 may be the 29-year-old's last chance to shine on the international stage.
He was expected to consolidate his international status at the 2004 European championships but ended up sitting out Italy's disappointing campaign after spitting at a Danish opponent in the opening game.
Italy coach Marcello Lippi has said he will have to change the Azzurri formation if the playmaker-cum-striker is not available.
With Totti in the team, Italy usually adopt a 4-3-1-2 formation, with the Roma star playing in the hole behind the strikers.
This enables him to act as a link between the midfield and the attack, using his vision and precision passing to set up chances for team-mates. It also puts him far enough forward to go for goal himself. Without Totti, Lippi is likely to revert to a simple
4-4-2 or try to maintain the offensive thrust he would give the side by fielding three forwards in a 4-3-3 formation.
The Roma captain kept himself busy while recovering from the injury, giving his Roma team-mates support from the sidelines and continuing with his charity work as an ambassador for Unicef. He also starred in a TV ad for satellite broadcaster Sky's coverage of the World Cup, which makes light of the host nation's culinary expertise.
