In the past week, Paris Saint-Germain have welcomed back one of their star men in Marco Verratti after a lengthy injury layoff.

Prior to his appearance as a substitute in the 5-1 demolition of Olympique Lyonnais in Ligue 1 last Sunday, the Italy international had been out of action since he injured himself in the 1-0 UEFA Champions League defeat away at Real Madrid in early November.

Verratti’s return against Lyon was greeted by wild applause from the Parc des Princes crowd, and the pint-sized midfield terrier wasted little time in reminding the PSG faithful why they have missed him so much recently.

Three days after his triumphant return against OL, the 23-year-old was lining up in the starting XI against AS Saint-Etienne in the Coupe de la Ligue. The Azzurri star played for 62 minutes before making way for Angel Di Maria, stepping up his return to full fitness.

Speaking with PSG’s official website after the narrow 1-0 win, Verratti revealed how happy he was to be back on the pitch and playing once again:

It was a very difficult match for us because we didn’t score that early goal. I think if we’d got that goal, it would have been a different match. But we finished the game well and qualified. I’m very happy because I hadn’t played for a long time. I’m not yet 100%, but this match will help me get back to my best. The best thing about the quarter-final draw is the fact that we’re playing at home, because we are better when we play at the Parc. It’s not easy for our rivals to come and play here.

In the 3-0 win away at SM Caen on Saturday, Verratti continued to build up his fitness with an 81-minute outing.

It was the former Pescara man’s best performance so far since his return, and he influenced the game more than midfield cohorts Thiago Motta and Blaise Matuidi. The PSG No. 6 started off the match at impressive speed, but tired in the second half. Marquinhos eventually replaced him.

He is edging towards a full 90 minutes and will probably get that against Inter Milan in Doha during the French champions’ Qatar Winter Tour over the Christmas break.

Angel Di Maria is absolutely flying at present with six goals and nine assists in Ligue 1 alone so far this season, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic is insatiable in front of goal with 15 in Le Championnat and counting.

Verratti’s return and full recovery is another piece of the PSG puzzle falling into place ahead of a crucial second half of the season.

Javier Pastore’s return to full fitness after his injury layoff is also important, and once Laurent Blanc can call upon the Argentina international, Les Parisiens will be back to full strength once more.

After Pastore’s recovery, Le President has a few other concerns, although nothing major. German goalkeeper Kevin Trapp’s string of errors over the first half of the season is a minor worry, while Uruguay international Edinson Cavani’s struggle for sustained scoring form continues.

Other than those two minor concerns, though, PSG are otherwise looking very good, and Verratti’s return to action is another reason for positivity lately.

Aside from the unlucky 1-0 loss to Real in Madrid, it has been a very good first half of the season for the Ligue 1 leaders. With Verratti getting back to his best level ahead of the start of the new year, the Italian and his teammates could be about to scale new heights in 2016.

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