Sports - Diarra Gets Mali Recall For Nations Cup Tie

Mali captain Mahamadou Diarra will return after a year's absence from international football to lead his country in their African Nations Cup qualifier against Botswana in Bamako on Saturday, officials said on Wednesday.

The Fulham midfielder has not played for Mali since last June, after which he was not selected because he did not have a club and was not playing regular football.

He missed January's Nations Cup finals in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon where Mali finished a surprise third.

The return of the former Real Madrid hard man to regular action at Craven Cottage has earned him a recall from new Mali coach Patrick Carteron, who takes charge for the first time in the final round, first leg qualifier for the 2013 finals in South Africa.

Mali will have to do without Queens Park Rangers player Samba Diakite after he withdrew from the squad with a virus.