Jerome Boateng is determined to play in Bayern Munich's crunch Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid on Tuesday but admitted to kicker: "It's clear that I am not yet back at the level I had before the injury."
Boateng, 27, made his first appearance since suffering a groin injury in January in Bayern's 1-1 draw with Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday, playing 68 minutes at the centre of a three-man defence alongside Serdar Tasci and Medhi Benatia.
"I was happy to finally be back on the pitch," Boateng said, although he acknowledged that the result -- which meant Bayern will have to wait to secure the Bundesliga title -- "wasn't all that thrilling."
The Germany international had been one of Bayern's most consistent players in the first half of the season and he acknowledges that he was not at his best against Gladbach.
"I am very pleased, even though I played two or three bad passes," he said. "I need to get a feeling for the pitch, the passes, the scenes, the turns. That's all new to me after three months, but I am pleased, and will not change my game because of two or three bad passes."
His return to fitness comes ahead of the second leg of Bayern's Champions League semifinal against Atletico, with the Spanish side leading 1-0 from the first leg.
Boateng, who was not in the matchday squad for the game at the Vicente Calderon, hopes to be included in Pep Guardiola's starting XI when Atletico visit the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.
"Of course, I can play," he said. "I will do my very best to recover as much as possible. We want to give it our all, and so do I.
"It's clear that I am not yet back at the level I was at before the injury, but it doesn't matter when it comes to this match."
Speaking at his postmatch news conference on Saturday, Guardiola left it open as to whether Boateng would start against Atletico.
"We have to wait and see how he copes with this match," he said.