Stars return for Sweden
Sweden coaches Lars Lagerback and Tommy Soderberg have welcomed back a host of players from injury, including long-term absentees Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Johan Mjallby, for next week's friendly against England in Gothenburg.
Sweden were forced to field an understrength side for last month's 2-1 defeat in Albania - hardly ideal preparations for their Euro 2004 campaign this summer.
However, players such as Arsenal's Fredrik Ljungberg, Southampton's Anders Svensson, Celtic's Magnus Hedman - currently on loan with Ancona in Italy - and Southampton's Michael Svensson are back after missing the trip to Albania.
Perhaps more reassuringly for the coaches, Ajax striker Ibrahimovic and Celtic defender Mjallby are also included in the side following surgery on groin and knee injuries respectively.
Lagerback admits he has now been able to select the squad he wanted to name for the match in February.
He said: "We have had a plan for how we will work with the team during the spring, but injuries and other circumstances have reduced it to very little.
"This time we have a few players with us who we would have liked to have seen already against Albania."
Meanwhile, Sweden have also announced plans for a friendly against Scotland.
The match will be played in Scotland and will be the Swedes' final international of the year on November 17.
Sweden squad: Andreas Isaksson (Djurgarden), Magnus Hedman (Ancona), Magnus Kihlstedt (FC Copenhagen); Christoffer Andersson (Lillestrom), Mikael Dorsin (Strasbourg), Erik Edman (Heerenveen), Andreas Jakobsson (Brondby), Teddy Lucic (Bayer Leverkusen), Olof Mellberg (Aston Villa), Johan Mjallby (Celtic), Michael Svensson (Southampton); Kim Kallstrom (Rennes), Tobias Linderoth (Everton), Fredrik Ljungberg (Arsenal), Mikael Nilsson (Halmstad), Anders Svensson (Southampton), Christian Wilhelmsson (Anderlecht), Anders Andersson (Belenenses); Marcus Allback (Aston Villa), Johan Elmander (NAC Breda), Pontus Farnerud (Strasbourg), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Ajax), Mattias Jonson (Brondby).
