Argentine striker Carlos Tevez has shed up to six kilos of weight in order to prove himself to Shanghai Shenhua faithful, who labelled him as a ‘very homesick boy. The former Juventus man has had a turbulent 10 months in the Far East, where received a hero’s welcome from the fans before missing half of the club’s games through injury or the lack of fitness.

Early in September, new Shenhua boss Wu Jingui termed the 33-year-old as overweight and ordered him to get fitter in order to make the matchday squad. Tevez has since taken the word strictly as per the club’s sources, and the striker lowered his weight from 78 to 72 kg to make his first-team comeback.

Tevez played the full 90 minutes in last weekend’s 5-1 win over Yanbian Funde where he netted just his fourth goal of the Chinese Super League. Shenhua have one more game left in this season’s league campaign after which they face rivals Shanghai SIPG in a two-legged FA Cup final.

The veteran marksman has previously hinted he would like to return to Boca Juniors midway through the season, but the deal could be dependent on his boyhood club making an attempt to pursue his services. Moreover, his agent has also dismissed the possibility of a return with Boca in a dispute with Shenhua with regards to the transfer agreement for Tevez.

Back in August, Boca president Daniel Angelici revealed that Shenhua had yet to make any payment for Tevez’s transfer to the Far East, and the club could raise the issue with the Court of Arbitration of Sport, should the wait continue. With the slow nature of the Chinese Super League, Tevez’s chances of making an international comeback look far-fetched, and he may well have played his final game in the national shirt unless he goes through a goalscoring run, which does not seem like happening.