Zenit St. Petersburg striker Alexander Kerzhakov has been recalled to the first team after resolving his differences with coach Luciano Spalletti, the Russian champions said Friday.
The former Sevilla and Dynamo Moscow front man was dropped to the reserves last week for unspecified “inappropriate behavior,” presumably for having taken the side of Igor Denisov in a salary spat with the management.
Denisov was left in the reserves for a match against Lokomotiv Moscow's second team on Friday, but it appears Kerzhakov will be available for the senior side's Premier League game Saturday.
"Kerzhakov has had enough time and opportunities to think over what happened," a spokesman told R-Sport. "He appealed to the head coach [Spalletti] to have a conversation, in which he demonstrated his readiness to return to the team."
"From today on he is training with the first team," the spokesman said of Zenit's top scorer last season.
The spat was sparked by the arrival of big-money signings Hulk and Axel Witsel earlier this month. Denisov objected to their large salaries, reportedly complaining the players were not good enough to be earning three times more than the average player at the club.
Zenit are fifth in the table with one point from two last games. They face Lokomotiv Moscow at home on Saturday before hosting AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Denisov and Kerzhakov have been called into a preliminary 36-man Russia squad for World Cup qualifiers against Portugal and Azerbaijan next month.
