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Finns get better as Litmanen returns

Having suffered only bad news of late, Group A hopefuls Finland have received a timely boost with the return to training of attacking talisman Jari Litmanen.

Having lost Alexei Eremenko Jr and Jari Ilola to injury, the return to training today of talisman Jari Litmanen gave Finland a timely boost before the conclusion of their UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying campaign.

Achilles injury
Litmanen was named in Roy Hodgson's squad last Thursday after recovering sooner than anticipated from an achilles tendon operation which was expected to keep him out for the year. Although there was a doubt that he would be able to play against Azerbaijan and Portugal, the 36-year-old's chances of appearing in Helsinki and Porto have been enhanced by his outing today.

Johansson relief
Fellow striker Jonatan Johansson said of Litmanen: "It was great to see him back in training. He seems to be in good condition and it's very important for the whole squad that he's around, both on and off the pitch." The Malmö FF forward has not played since June. Hodgson's team need to win both of their remaining Group A fixtures to have any possibility of reaching the EURO.

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