Sandro targets summer return

Published Apr. 13, 2013 7:15 a.m. ET

foxsports

Tottenham midfielder Sandro says he is on course to recover from a serious knee injury in time to be fit for next season.

Last month, Sandro returned to his native Brazil to undergo rehab with former club Internacional on the injury he sustained against QPR in January.

"I've got three months to go," said Sandro. "I've started to run, I'm developing. Sometimes I try too much and the knee swells up. I have to listen to the doctor. I have to give the injury enough time, but I dream that I am playing."

The 24-year-old says he hopes he can regain the excellent form he showed before his injury on his return so he can earn a place in Luiz Felipe Scolari's Brazil squad for the 2014 World Cup in his homeland.

"I was in the best phase of my life as a player, so it was hard when I had the injury," he said. "Hopefully I'll be back playing with my club and then I can think about the national team. When I return I will be stronger."

Sandro also hopes to be returning to a side playing in the UEFA Champions League, although that is far from certain.

With six games to go, Tottenham are fourth in the table, but Arsenal are two points behind them with a game in hand.

"We have to fight to stay in fourth place," Sandro told Globo Esporte. "Last year was complicated. We did not classify because Chelsea were the champions of Europe.

"The Champions League is a different competition (to the Europa League). Everything the fans see is what the player feels... the entrance music, the stadia, the fans... everything is amazing.

"I made first played in the competition in 2010 when we beat AC Milan at the San Siro. We beat Inter Milan, too, and we only lost in the quarter-finals to Real Madrid.

"It was a really great experience. Hopefully the club will compete in the competition again."