• Premier League

Sandro targets Champions League return

Sandro suffered injury against Queens Park Rangers in January © AP

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Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Sandro hopes the club will be playing in the Champions League when he returns from injury next season.

Sandro, 24, suffered a season-ending injury against Queens Park Rangers and is back in his native Brazil for treatment. He is on course to be in action again over the summer, and does not wish to be in the Europa League for a second successive term.

Spurs have suffered a poor run of form since beating Arsenal on March 3, recording only two victories in eight matches with only one of those being in the Premier League. The Gunners can overtake them on Saturday, leaving Spurs outside of the Champions League places.

"We have to fight to stay in fourth place,'' Sandro told Globo Esporte. "Last year was complicated. We did not classify because Chelsea were the champions of Europe.

"The Champions League is a different competition [to the Europa League]. Everything the fans see is what the player feels... the entrance music, the stadia, the fans... everything is amazing.

"I first played in the competition in 2010 when we beat AC Milan at the San Siro. We beat Inter Milan, too, and we only lost in the quarter-finals to Real Madrid.

"It was a really great experience. Hopefully the club will compete in the competition again.''

About his return from the knee injury which brought his campaign to a premature end, Sandro said: "I've got three months to go. I've started to run, I'm developing. Sometimes I try too much and the knee swells up. I have to listen to the doctor. I have to give the injury enough time, but I dream that I am playing."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.