Buffon ready for quick comeback

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon on Thursday claimed he is ready to reclaim his place in the Juventus team following a knee operation.

Buffon has missed Juve’s last three league matches as well as Wednesday’s 3-0 victory over Napoli in the Coppa Italia.

His absence has coincided with a dip in form that has seen Juve slip to 12 points behind league leaders Inter Milan and during which time they lost 3-0 at home to AC Milan.

“After a month out due to my knee operation, I’m ready to return,” Buffon told his own official website.

“All the post-op phases have gone as well as possible. I’ve not had any problems and have been able to concentrate fully on my recuperation.

“Hence I expect to be back between the sticks in Verona on Sunday (against Chievo).

“The win over Napoli in the Cup served to remount our morale but we all know that’s not enough to bring some consistency to our results.”

Juve may have beaten Napoli, who came into the game on a 14-match unbeaten run, but the southerners, who knew that next up in the Cup would be Inter, rested most of their top players, showing they are clearly concentrating their efforts this season on securing a top four finish.

Juve nonetheless came into the game with six defeats in their previous eight matches.

“The situation does not favour us. From now on we have to give our all every time we take to the pitch, with the same effort we saw (Wednesday) and we have to stop looking at the table,” added Buffon.