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What's the story?
Mauro Icardi's wife and agent, Wanda Nara, has said that the Inter Milan No. 9 is 'fit and ready to play again', not long after Luciano Spalletti indicated he won't be picking Icardi for the squad any time soon.
In case you didn't know...
Mauro Icardi was stripped of his captaincy for Inter Milan over six weeks ago and he has not played a single game for the side since. A lot of the problems between the club and Icardi stem from his sour attitude, which fans believe was starting to affect the players around him.
Icardi finally returned to training last week after Inter officials had to negotiate with his lawyer to get him to show up, but, even then, he was left out of their game against Lazio by Spalletti.
Spaletti believes that Mauro Icardi is currently "humiliating" the club's supporters after their 1-0 loss to Lazio at the weekend; it was an indirect swipe at Icardi for not making himself readily available to the coach because of the way he's been behaving.
The heart of the matter
When asked by Sky Italia about the Icardi situation after their game, Spalletti had this to say:
"Today, the only choice for Icardi was to stay out, it is only right that the others should play for how they have behaved.
"Credibility is needed and at the moment, it is right that others should play because in the locker room credibility is needed.
"People say we lose many games without Icardi, but the team did not qualify for the Champions League for years when he started. Inter have lost much worse games than this with Icardi.
"It is humilating for fans to negotiate with a player to get him to wear the shirt they love.
"[There are] few players who make a real difference. [Lionel] Messi is one of these, Icardi is not."
Icardi and Nara were actually present for the home defeat and the 26-year-old's agent took to the TV show Tiki Taka to respond to Spaletti's latest criticism.
"Mauro is ready and it's all down to the coach's decision.
"If Mauro came back, would he make the same choices? It depends on what choices... I don't know. It depends on how you see the situation.
"Mauro has not yet spoken: he only expects to play and is preparing for this.
"His [Spaletti's] words are not a step back. Mauro is used to hearing so many things around him, but then focuses on what needs to be done to help Inter on the field.
She went on to say that Icardi's silence on social media and off the pitch about the ongoing issues are not an indication of a deteriorating relationship with the club.
"He had a television camera right in his face throughout the game.
"He was willing the team on and obviously cares a lot for his team-mates, but he doesn't need to say it out loud or on social networks."
What next?
It isn't clear as to whether Spalletti will feature Icardi in any of the remaining games, but with the relationship between the club and the player becoming more strenuous by the day, a transfer out of the club looks to be very likely at this point.
