He is set to stand between the sticks against Fiorentina on Saturday in the Serie A, as he has been named in his team's 19-man squad.

The Italy keeper was plagued with a succession of major injuries this season that kept him on the sidelines for quite a long time.

The jinxed guardian suffered from a groin problem while still recuperating from a long-lasting back injury, which he sustained in September.

Weeks later, Buffon ruptured a right thigh muscle during a Serie A match against Palermo, which greatly worsened his condition.

Afterwards, he made a comeback and played the first half of a friendly against AS Monaco FC, and then returned to competitive action in the 3-0 Coppa Italia victory over Calcio Catania on 14 January.

However, his progress was once again hampered as he went down with fever, and thus was out of action for about a week.

Regular

Over the past few months, deputy keeper Alexander Manninger excelled in the absence of Buffon, who believes that his recurring injuries could cost him his place as a regular.

"If he carries on like this, I might not get my place back," commented Buffon on his status.