Figo back for World Cup qualifiers

Real Madrid winger Luis Figo took part in his first Portugal training session in 11 months on Tuesday as the squad prepared for their World Cup European zone qualifiers against Slovakia and Estonia.

Figo, 32, opted to take an indefinite break from international football after last year's European championship but reconsidered his decision last month when he was struggling to hold down a place in the starting lineup at his Spanish club.

The 2001 World Player of the Year is Portugal's most capped international with 110 appearances since 1991, and their third-highest scorer with 31 goals.

Figo's last appearance for the national team was in the Euro 2004 final, which Portugal lost 1-0 to Greece.

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Five players have withdrawn from Portugal's original 26-man squad for their next two qualifiers because of injury or physical problems.

The absentees are defenders Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea), Nuno Valente (Porto) and Miguel Monteiro (Benfica) and forwards Luis Boa Morte (Fulham) and Nuno Gomes (Benfica).

Portugal share the top spot in Group Three with Slovakia on 14 points. They host Slovakia in Lisbon on Saturday before facing Estonia in Tallinn four days later.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Ricardo Pereira (Sporting), Quim Silva (Benfica)

Defenders: Jorge Andrade (Deportivo Coruna), Marco Caneira (Valencia, Spain), Jorge Ribeiro (Dynamo Moscow), Alex Costa (Vitoria Guimaraes), Fernando Meira (VfB Stuttgart), Nuno Frechaut (Dynamo Moscow), Ricardo Costa (Porto)

Midfielders: Luis Figo (Real Madrid), Deco Souza (Barcelona), Armando Petit (Benfica), Costinha (Porto), Maniche Ribeiro (Porto), Tiago Mendes (Chelsea), Manuel Fernandes (Benfica)

Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Helder Postiga (Porto), Pauleta (Paris St Germain), Simao Sabrosa (Benfica), Ricardo Quaresma (Porto)