Abidal earns France recall

Eric Abidal’s remarkable return to fitness following surgery on a liver tumour was today rewarded with a recall to the France national side.

The Barcelona defender, who could feature in Saturday’s Champions League final against Manchester United just weeks after returning to action, has been named in coach Laurent Blanc’s 26-man selection for the Euro 2012 qualifier in Belarus on June 3 and the friendly double-header against the continental tournament’s co-hosts, Ukraine and Poland.