Trulli fit to return to action

The Italian picked up a fever while in Australia and, as well as suffering a miserable time on the track, he was subsequently diagnosed with an ear infection.

That left Toyota's doctor advising him to cancel his return flight home after the race and remain in the country until it had cleared up.

"Almost as soon as I arrived in Australia I had flu symptoms," said Trulli, who crashed out of the Albert Park race on the first lap following a collision with David Coulthard. "I felt a bit feverish and completely blocked up.

"Maybe I caught something from the air conditioning or something with all the flying, but it certainly didn't help. Then the Toyota doctor diagnosed an ear infection and recommended that I delayed flying home. Altogether, not a happy weekend..."

Trulli was declared well enough to fly back to Europe last Wednesday and, after recuperating at home, he is due to join Toyota for testing at Barcelona in Spain later this week.

"Yeah, everything is okay," said Trulli's manager Lucio Cavuto. "He returned home on Wednesday and he will drive at Barcelona on Thursday and Friday."

Trulli has failed to score any points this season on the back of Toyota's struggles. After struggling with tyre grip issues in Bahrain, his car was damaged after being hit by Vitantonio Liuzzi in Malaysia before he was sidelined by the Coulthard crash in Australia.