Rossi nearing Fiorentina debut

Fiorentina striker Giuseppe Rossi is nearing a comeback from a nightmare time on the sidelines with a knee ligament problem.

Rossi moved to Florence from Villarreal in January despite not having played competitive football since October 2011, and he is now finally nearing a return to first-team action and a long-awaited debut.

The striker’s agent Andrea Pastorello revealed the Italian international could make an appearance for Vincenzo Montella’s side before the end of the season.

“Giuseppe is finally out of the tunnel,” Pastorello told Radio Blu.

“Maybe there will be time for him to debut, but you have to consider that he has been sidelined for a year and a half.

“He really likes Florence, he gets on with his new team-mates and he has settled in very well.”

Once fully fit, Rossi, who netted 54 goals in 136 games during his spell in Spain, will provide a different option for Montella compared to the power of Luca Toni and the skill of Stevan Jovetic.

The 26-year-old began his career in the youth team at Parma before moving to Manchester United in 2004, he made his first-team debut at Old Trafford a year later but struggled to get among the goals and moved to Villareal in 2007.

The goals flowed in Spain and before his injury he was attracting the attention of Europe’s top clubs, and his agent revealed that despite his lengthy spell on the sidelines there was still a lot of interest in the striker last post-season.

“We were very close to concluding a deal with Bayern Munich,” he continued.

“Then everything fell through a few days before his second injury.”