Monaco vs Evian preview - Carvalho: Return will help Monaco

Ricardo Carvalho insists his return to international football will benefit club side Monaco.

The defender retired from Portugal duty in 2011 but accepted new manager Fernando Santos' call for the matches against France and Denmark.

Now the 36-year-old must get ready for the resumption of league action, with Monaco facing resurgent Evian on Saturday.

Speaking to the club's website, Carvalho said: "If the national side needs me, I'm ready to help.

"I feel good. Better than at the start of the season. I'm working hard to stay fit. It's good for me, for the club and for the national team.

"It's important to be able to juggle playing for your club and your country. Now we're back in Monaco, we need to focus 100 per cent on Saturday's match."

Monaco lost several key players in the summer and their start to the season has reflected that, with 11 points from nine games putting them 13th in the table.

That is two places ahead of their visitors but, having picked up just one point from their first six games, Evian have won three in a row and captain Olivier Sorlin hopes they can take advantage of Monaco's shaky form.

Speaking about the turnaround, Sorlin told a press conference: "There was a change in behaviour, we saw the difference.

"When you look at the standings every morning and everyone sees you condemned, he must realise that you are in danger. We talked a lot, we watched a lot of video to see what was wrong. We started winning and confidence has returned.

"We will try to continue the series. I hope we will take at least one point because they are not in a great moment.

"They lost players, including marquee ones. They are above us but they also need points. We will try to make them doubt."