Football
Ian Holyman, France correspondent 7y

Nice striker Mario Balotelli: I'm fit to return against Paris Saint-Germain

Mario Balotelli could feature in Nice's top-of-the-table Ligue 1 encounter with Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday after revealing he has recovered from injury.

Balotelli, 26, returned to full training on Tuesday having missed the French league leaders' last four competitive fixtures with a calf problem sustained in November.

Five days before Nice's trip to the capital to face Ligue 1 champions PSG at the Parc des Princes, the striker told Chinese media he is ready to play this weekend.

"I feel good [about Sunday]," he said during an interview scheduled to be published on Nice's new Weibo channel in the coming days. "It depends on the coach, of course."

Since seeing Balotelli, who was a surprise summer capture from Liverpool, sidelined, Nice have picked up seven points from three league games to maintain a three-point lead over second-placed Monaco.

PSG, the four-time defending champions, are a place and point further back, and will be desperate to get back to winning ways after two successive games without victory.

Balotelli says he is highly motivated for Sunday's game, regardless of who the opposition is.

"Paris Saint-Germain, Toulouse, Lyon, it's not the name that counts for me," said Balotelli, who has scored six times in as many league games for Nice. "We have to have the same approach every weekened. I don't think in terms of a big match or a small match. I want to win every time."

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