Real Madrid talismanic striker Higuain to return in April

Posted on March 24, 2011 by SoccerPunter

Real Madrid’s Argentinian striker Gonzalo Higuain will return “very soon” from the injury he suffered in November, coach Jose Mourinho said on Wednesday.

“For the first time he played in a little training match with the players of Real’s reserve team,” he said.

“He played 60 minutes. Obviously he is not 100 percent, but he is on his way. I don’t know if he will be there for the match against Sporting (Gijon on April 2 or 3) but if he is not, he will be back very soon.

“With so many matches to play before the end of the season, it’s important to be able to count on everyone.”

Real have nine league matches still to play this season, a Spanish Cup final against Barcelona and a quarter-final meeting with Tottenham in the Champions League.

Higuain, who normally starts in attack for Real alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, has been unable to play since the end of November because of a slipped disc, for which he underwent surgery in the United States in January.

Real signed Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor on loan from Manchester City in January to provide cover until the end of the season, but France striker Karim Benzema has made himself a first-team regular in Higuain’s absence.

Twenty-three-year-old Higuain scored 27 league goals for Real last season, making him La Liga’s second-most prolific scorer behind fellow Argentine Lionel Messi of Barcelona.

He joined Real in January 2007 from Argentine side River Plate.