PARIS. Eric Abidal has been recalled to the France team to face Belgium on Wednesday night 18 months after he last featured for Les Bleus.The full-back was diagnosed with liver cancer in March 2011 and, despite making a recovery, had to undergo a transplant in April of last year before returning to action for Barcelona in April. He completed a move from Barça to Monaco this summer and will now be hoping to earn his 62nd France cap against Belgium.Sevilla midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia - who recently featured in France’s FIFA U-20 World Cup Turkey 2013 triumph - has also been selected in Didier Deschamps’ 23-man squad and is in line for a senior debut while Samir Nasri could make his first appearance since UEFA EURO 2012.Speaking at a press conference, Deschamps said of Abidal: “After discussing it at length with him, I decided to call him back. You know his history, his arrival in Monaco, his performances during the warm-up matches.“There are also injuries with (Raphael) Varane out with his meniscus and (Mamadou) Sakho is struggling at the moment. Abidal, more importantly, is competitive and has a deep and strong desire to represent his country.”
