Spokesman denies Massa to return in 2009

(GMM) A Ferrari spokesman has played down reports that Felipe Massa is set to return before the end of the 2009 season.

The Italian team announced recently that the 28-year-old Brazilian, seriously injured at July's Hungarian GP, will be fit in time for the start of next year's world championship.

But when asked in Singapore last weekend if an earlier comeback is possible, team boss Stefano Domenicali said he didn't want to "exclude anything", and in the last days Massa has been turning some laps at the Granja Viana kart track in Brazil.

Moreover, Ferrari confirmed that Massa has intensified "his physical preparation" in recent days, and is set to spend some time in the driver simulator at Maranello next week.

But Ferrari spokesman Luca Colajanni denied that a return in 2009 is on the cards for the 2008 championship runner-up.

"There is absolutely nothing true in this story," he said. "Felipe's recovery is proceeding in a very positive way, but there are no plans to accelerate his comeback."