Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim hailed the return of Radamel Falcao to the side as they prepare to face Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League.
The French league leaders will head into the intimidating atmosphere of Dortmund's Westfalenstadion in the first leg of their quarterfinal tie on Tuesday, with their star striker fit again.
Until Falcao began Saturday's Ligue 1 encounter at Angers, he had not started a competitive game since late February because of an adductor problem and a hip injury.
The Colombia international, 31, struck his 17th goal of the season to secure a 1-0 win and keep his team three points clear of reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain in the table.
Jardim said he is delighted to have the former Porto and Atletico Madrid striker available again.
"Falcao's return is important, he contributes quality and experience," the Monaco coach said of his high-profile forward, who has four goals in as many Champions League appearances this season.
Jardim then denied nascent star Kylian Mbappe has been irked by not featuring in his club's last two games.
"He knows we have faith in him, that we're making him improve, that he's going to play a lot of matches and not some others, like everyone else, but we count a lot on him," Jardim added.
Monaco head into the game without first-choice right-back Djibril Sidibe after the France international required surgery to remove his appendix while midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko is suspended.
"My opinion is that we're not favourites. I think there are two quality teams with a lot of missing players," explained Jardim, whose team are also in the Coupe de France semifinals and have a sapping nine matches to negotiate this month.
"It's not easy to play all these competitions every three days with this intensity. We played in the third qualifying round, the play-offs, the group stage... We're the team that has played most in Europe," Jardim said.
"It's not easy, but it's not possible to put our reserve team out to face Dortmund. We need to play to our maximum."
Dortmund's imposing record of just one home defeat in 12 European matches will require at least that kind of effort if Monaco are to build on their surprise elimination of Manchester City in the previous round.
Though the 80,000 capacity of the Signal Iduna Park is reduced to just under 66,000 for European games with standing areas made seated, the atmosphere will still contrast starkly with Monaco's Stade Louis II, where average crowds for a league game are under 10,000.
"We know that it is an extra source of strength for their team, but for us it's an extra source of motivation," said midfielder Fabinho, who will find Euro 2016 winner Joao Moutinho alongside him in Bakayoko's absence. "It's always good to play in a full stadium with a great pitch."