Centre-back Nicolas Nkoulou will return to the Olympique de Marseille squad to take on Lille in Ligue 1 on Sunday after recovering from a groin problem.

Cameroon’s Nkoulou had been spared for his team’s Europa League home game against Fenerbahce, which Marseille lost 1-0 on Wednesday and were eliminated from the competition.

“He will play (against Lille),” coach Elie Baup was quoted as saying on the club’s website (www.om.net) on Friday.

Baup, however, is still monitoring Mathie Valbuena’s fitness while the France forward battles with a lower back problem.