Heinze targets World Cup spot (13 Apr 2006 23:46 GMT)
Gabriel Heinze has hailed the end to his six-month injury nightmare and admits his target is to represent Argentina at the World Cup in June.
The combative full-back admitted that his road to recovery endured some difficult moments.
"They were six very hard months," he said. "I was sad in the beginning, just after picking-up the ligament injury, but those closest to me and everybody here (in Manchester) and in Argentina helped me to get over it."
With the worst now consigned to the past, Heinze is confident he can rebuild his career at international level and take his place on the plane to Germany.
"I've never felt pressure from the national team's coaching staff, although they've always been calling me to know how I was," he said.
"I want to get to the World Cup finals in the best possible form, then the coach will decide whether to name me or not. After getting over the injury, the World Cup is nearer than before," he added.
Argentina coach Jose Pekerman has expressed his delight at the return to fitness of Heinze.
"It's fantastic that Heinze is playing again," told Pekerman, "We've been aware of his development and he is concerned about how important he is to our team. He also knows that we need him to get over the injury completely. If he is ready to play, it's very satisfying for us."
source : TEAMtalk