Emmanuel Adebayor's fragile fitness is set to be tested this weekend after the Togo coach, Jean Thissen, revealed he intends to play him in the World Cup qualifier against Cameroon despite the Arsenal forward having yet to feature for his club since injuring a hamstring six weeks ago.
Adebayor pulled a hamstring during the goalless north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur on 8 February with Arsène Wenger insistent last week that he would not be ready to make a first‑team return until the Premier League game against Manchester City on 4 April. Arsenal released him to the Togo squad initially on the understanding that he would not feature in their qualifier, to be played tomorrow in Accra, Ghana, though that stance appears to have mellowed.
However, while Wenger will be anxious the player does not suffer a relapse, the club are somewhat reassured by the fact that the striker trained fully all last week and will hope that the 25-year-old will benefit from the run-out Thissen appears set upon. "Adebayor hasn't joined up with us in Lome for nothing," said the Belgian. "He is here to play against Cameroon. He is the main man with the national team, my captain, and the nation can count on him. He is a wonderful player who has always given his best for the country, so he will be a boost to the squad as this is a huge match for Togo."
The forward trained with his team-mates in front of around 4,000 spectators at Lome's municipal stadium on Wednesday and will travel with the team to Ghana for tomorrow's qualifier, Togo having been banned from playing at home after violence flared during a 2-0 defeat to Mali there in October 2007. Arsenal expect him to report back to London Colney on Monday to resume his preparations for the game against City, with the club's Champions League quarter-final against Villarreal to follow three days later.
The Chelsea playmaker Deco is in line to make a surprise appearance for Portugal in tomorrow's critical World Cup qualifier against Sweden less than two weeks after Guus Hiddink feared the midfielder would be ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering hamstring damage. The 31-year-old, who first suffered a thigh problem in the build-up to the Champions League tie with Juventus, hobbled from the pitch against Manchester City on 15 March having managed just 41 minutes of his first start since January.
Hiddink was initially concerned that he may have lost the player for the rest of the campaign, though he tempered that pessimism last week by declaring he was "not totally sure" how long it would take for Deco to recover. "It is not the same problem as before, but in another spot," said the Chelsea temporary manager. "He was totally cured before, but we'll have to take time to train him very well. It's not a matter of two or three days."
But the Portugal team doctor, Henrique Jones, said yesterday: "There is a very good chance he will be able to play against Sweden. He feels good after the training he has done and it looks really promising that he will be fit for Saturday. The willpower and determination of the player have been important in his recuperation, though we should still be cautious."
