Lazio coach Edoardo Reja hopes to able to call on leading scorer Miroslav Klose for the club's final two games of the season.

I Biancoceleste had been hoping that the German international, who has been sidelined with a thigh injury since last month, would be back in training by now but the 33-year-old's recovery process has been slower than first anticipated.

However, Reja is keeping his fingers crossed that Klose will be back in the fold for the last few games as Lazio chase a top-three finish in Serie A. "I hope to have Klose available for the last two league games of the season," Reja said to www.corrieredellosport.it. "The final games could be crucial."

Lazio currently occupy the third and final UEFA Champions League qualifying spot with six games remaining, lying three points above fourth-placed Udinese. Klose, who joined Lazio last summer on a free transfer from Bayern Munich, has scored 13 goals in 26 league appearances for the Biancoceleste so far.