Thuram set to rejoin Zidane and Makelele in French fold

JUVENTUS defender Lilian Thuram looks set to follow Zinedine Zidane and Claude Makelele in coming out of international retirement after receiving a call-up from the French football federation for the friendly against the Ivory Coast on August 17.

Juventus coach Fabio Capello confirmed that Thuram has been named in the French squad for match in Montpellier. “This morning a letter arrived calling him up for the game in Montpellier,” Capello was quoted as saying by Italian news agency ANSA.

However, the news has not been confirmed by Thuram, who quit the French team after Euro 2004.

Although Thuram’s expected return will be a major boost for France, Capello expressed his concerns about the Frenchman’s u-turn, fearing the extra games would affect his performances for the Italian champions.

“At a certain age it’s not easy for anybody to cope with so many matches,” he said.

Thuram, 33, is France’s second-most capped player, with 103 caps.

France are fourth in Group 4 of the qualifying campaign for the 2006 World Cup finals, three points behind leaders the Republic of Ireland with a game in hand.

France’s next World Cup qualifiers are against the Faroe Islands at home on September 3 and the Republic of Ireland in Dublin four days later.

Meanwhile the good news for Brian Kerr is that Richard Dunne is hopeful the injury he sustained in the Joey Barton incident in Bangkok may not be as serious as first feared.

The centre-half injured his foot when he kicked a wall in frustration after team-mate Barton had turned on him in their team hotel. Dunne had attempted to intervene as peacemaker when Barton became involved in a fracas with an Everton fan.

City boss Stuart Pearce absolved Dunne of any responsibility for the row but reported that his self-inflicted injury - a cracked bone in his foot - would keep him out of the game for three months.

However, the player himself now says that the fracture which showed up on the x-ray may be an old injury.

The player’s optimism not withstanding, he is still certain to miss the start of the Premiership and Ireland’s friendly against Italy on August 17. With that game set to play a big part in Brian Kerr’s preparations for the Autumn World Cup qualifiers, it remains to be seen if the injury will permit Dunne to force his way back into the manager’s thinking for the games against France in September and Cyprus and Switzerland in October.