Kickoff (Cape Town)

Côte d'Ivoire/Guinea: Drogba Returning to Cup of Nations Action

18 August 2008


Injured Chelsea striker Didier Drogba is likely to make his return to the Ivory Coast team when they play Guinea next week after being included in a 23-man squad for the match in Paris, the Ivorian Football Federation said.

Drogba has missed his country's last six internationals, one of several key players who skipped a tour to Japan in late May and four African Cup of Nations\World Cup qualifiers on successive weekends in June.

Earlier this month, Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari said the club did not expect him to return for them until after August 31 because of a knee injury.

Also returning to the Ivorian squad are Aruna Dindane, Arouna Kone, Bakary Kone and Barcelona midfielder Gneri Yaya Toure, who underwent back surgery in May.

Coach Vahid Halilhodzic, who only took charge in May, handed a surprise recall to Levante's Felix Ettien Djah, who won three caps in 2001 but has not played again.

The friendly at Chantilly on the outskirts of the French capital on Wednesday is a warm-up for the Ivorians' next World Cup qualifier, away to Mozambique on September 7.

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