Marcelo was back in training for Real Madrid on Thursday, with the club hopeful that he will be available to face Paris Saint-Germain next week.

The left-back has been out since February 18, when he was forced off just 30 minutes into Madrid’s comeback win over Real Betis with a hamstring injury. There were fears that the Brazilian could be a long-term absentee, but those concerns have been allayed.

Madrid have a rather inconsequential league tie against Getafe on Saturday night, given their position in La Liga, in third place with virtually no hope of catching leaders Barcelona, who are 14 points ahead with a game in hand. The fixture thus offers a low-key opportunity to test Marcelo’s fitness ahead of Tuesday’s crunch Champions League tie in Paris.

The Spanish club hold a 3-1 advantage from the first leg, in which Marcelo scored Madrid’s crucial third goal, but cannot take passage into the quarterfinals for granted against a star-studded PSG side.

Young defender Jesus Vallejo also returned to training after missing a month.