Inter captain Lautaro could make surprise comeback against Barcelona in Champions League

MILAN (AP) — Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martínez is hoping to emulate strike partner Marcus Thuram ahead of their team’s Champions League semifinal against Barcelona on Tuesday.

In the buildup to the first leg last week, the focus was on whether Thuram would be fit in time even for a place on the bench after missing three matches with a thigh problem.

But Thuram surprisingly started and scored the opener just seconds after kickoff in a thrilling 3-3 draw that has set up a must-see sequel in Milan.

This time around it is Lautaro who is a doubt after having to come off at halftime against Barcelona last Wednesday with a thigh muscle injury.

Inter coach Simone Inzaghi admitted last week that it would be “very difficult” to have Lautaro back in time as that type of injury normally takes 10 days to two weeks to recover from.

But confidence is growing in the Inter camp. Lautaro trained in the gym on Sunday and the Argentina World Cup winner is set to return to the group in their afternoon training session on Monday.

Inter could also welcome back Benjamin Pavard after the defender — who was the goalscoring hero against Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals — missed the trip to Barcelona with an ankle injury.

“We will decide together with the medical staff, together with the players themselves, because they will be the ones who will have to tell me their own feelings,” Inzaghi said on Monday.

“Pavard participated in the first part of training yesterday, he didn’t feel much, so we’ll see. Lautaro hasn’t trained since the Barcelona match, today we’ll see how he is and then we’ll decide.”

Lautaro himself posted a cryptic message on Instagram: a photo of him doing exercises in the gym, captioned with emojis of an hourglass and a battery.

Thuram commented on the image with an emoji of an alarm clock.

Lautaro is Inter’s record goalscorer in Europe’s elite club competition, with 20 goals – including eight this season.

The 27-year-old has scored 21 goals and added six assists for Inter across all competitions this campaign.

“Lautaro will do the impossible to be there,” Inzaghi’s assistant coach, Massimiliano Farris, said after Saturday’s win over Hellas Verona in Serie A.

“Clearly what they feel after today’s training sensations will be very, very important for Lauti, for Pavard,” Inzaghi said. “Knowing that we have players if necessary because Pavard wasn’t there in Barcelona and Lautaro had to come off at the end of the first half.

“So we have a good squad and we’ll see after today’s training. Tomorrow morning we’ll do some stretching, I’ll make my decision then.”

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