Jaap Stam makes his return to the Lazio side against Brescia on Sunday after serving a four-month suspension for using the banned drug nandrolone. The Netherlands defender, signed from Manchester United at the start of the season, was banned after testing positive following a game against Atalanta in October.
"It's like I've woken up from a nightmare," Stam was quoted as saying by Italian news agency ANSA. "It's been an incredible situation: not to be able to make my contribution to the team, to help them with their ups and downs."
Lazio have struggled without Stam, dropping out of the title race and unlikely to qualify for next season's Champions League. "Now I must put this all in the past and I want to look just to the future, to football and finally make my contribution to the fortunes of Lazio and the national team," he said.
Filed by Sinéad Kissane
