Brisbane Roar midfielder Henrique is aiming to play against Melbourne Victory next weekend after returning to training on Monday morning.
Henrique, who has been out for five weeks with a leg injury, was joined on the track by injury-stricken team-mates Michael Zullo, Charlie MIller and Massimo Murdocca in a sight to savour for Roar fans and coach Ange Postecoglou.
With the Roar coming off a morale-boosting 2-0 win over Adelaide last weekend, none of the returning players are guaranteed a start, but Henrique is just happy to be back to full fitness.
“It’s a big achievement for me,” he said.
“Today was the first session that I actually trained with the boys, touching the ball and working normally.”
“Fitness-wise I feel really good but my touch is not 100 percent yet. In the next two weeks hopefully I can work my way back to full form and be ready for Melbourne.”
Last week’s win was the first time the Roar have collected maximum points in seven outings and the 24-year-old said it had been hard watching from the sidelines.
“I suffered a lot during this period, especially knowing that if I was fit I’d be able to help the team somehow on the field,” he said.
“So it was a really frustrating time for me to see a lot of things happening but not being able to help, but hopefully that’s finished now and I’m looking forward to a new beginning.”
Henrique will give it his all over the next two weeks to prove his worth to Postecoglou, under whom he is yet to play.
“First of all I have to train really hard this week to impress Ange and show that I deserve to make the squad,” he said.
“If I can do that I will play 100 percent for as long as I can (against Melbourne), so if I last 45 or 60 minutes at least I will have given all I can.”
