Icardi still not available, Inter confirm

Inter have confirmed Mauro Icardi is not ready to return to action as he needs to build up his fitness levels.

Icardi was stripped of the captaincy by head coach Luciano Spalletti last month and has not played since.

The striker claimed to have been injured but Inter initially said tests could not uncover a specific issue.

A contract row between Icardi, his agent Wanda Nara and Inter is reportedly behind the stand-off between club and player.

But director of Inter's medical department Piero Volpi has signalled Icardi could be back in action soon.

"He underwent the first stage of physiotherapy before an individual spell of rehabilitation," he told the club's website.

"He's joining up with the group again, catching up with his team-mates. We'll evaluate his condition next week and only then can we say how long will be required before he's fully available.

"We'll continue with the normal process, like with all of our players. You start with individual work, then you train in part with the rest of the squad before returning fully."

| INTER MEDICAL MEETING After the second edition of the event, Medical Director Piero Volpi also offered an insight into the conditions of @MauroIcardi, @OfficialRadja and @Stefandevrij. https://t.co/aSa9TTkNLj#FCIM pic.twitter.com/8DlxdpR3Qf

— Inter (@Inter_en) March 22, 2019

Inter's form has been good despite Icardi's absence, Spalletti's side beating AC Milan 3-2 in their last game to leapfrog their rivals into third place in Serie A, and Volpi gave an update on Radja Nainggolan's calf injury and Stefan de Vrij's setback on international duty.

"Nainggolan is recovering from the problem that he had around 15 days ago. He's improving and we're finalising his individual plan," he added. "Like with Icardi, we'll evaluate him at the start of next week and see when he can return to training with the group.

"With regard to De Vrij, the Dutch doctor who we have an excellent relationship with like with all national team staff informed us of the issue. It should only be a case of fatigue because the ultrasound tests came back negative."