By sportswriter Michael Place
SARANSK, Russia, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Peru captain Paolo Guerrero says he is ready to play in his team's opening World Cup match against Denmark after his doping ban was temporarily lifted, team coach Ricardo Gareca said on Friday.
Guerrero has played just two matches for his Flamengo club since December, when he was banned for testing positive for cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine.
He said that he unwittingly consumed the substance in contaminated tea and that it did not enhance his sporting performance.
A Swiss court last month granted an order to freeze Guerrero's 14-month ban during the World Cup in Russia, which began on Thursday. The tournament marks Peru's first appearance in football's biggest event since 1982.
Gareca told a news conference that he had yet to decide if the 34-year-old would start in Saturday's match at Mordovia Arena.
"I always wait until the last second to make my mind up," the Argentine said. "Paolo has looked very good since rejoining the national team. I know he's very, very happy. He is fit and ready to play."
In handing down its decision, the Swiss Federal Tribunal said it considered the likelihood that Guerrero would not play in a World Cup, given his age. It also ruled that Guerrero "did not act intentionally or with significant negligence."
The court added that an appeal to overturn the suspension would be considered at a later date.
Days earlier, the captains of Peru's World Cup Group C rivals - Australia, France, and Denmark - signed a letter asking FIFA to reconsider the ban.
"We want to express our gratitude to all of the captains," Gareca said. "It was a great demonstration of solidarity with our national team. And this has been very positive for Guerrero."
Peru's all-time leading scorer with 32 goals in 86 international matches was given a 12-month ban last December but the penalty, backdated to November, was halved less than two weeks later by FIFA's appeal committee.
However the Court of Arbitration for Sport extended the suspension by eight months on May 14 - two weeks after he returned for Brazil's Flamengo - after a challenge by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
The new ruling barred the former Bayern Munich player from all football-related activities until next January.
