Eric Abidal has been medically cleared by Barcelona to return to playing for the first team, almost a year after his last appearance.
As believed earlier in the week, the Frenchman has now been cleared by Barca’s medical staff and is available for first-team selection effective immediately.
The defender hasn’t played since late February last year, and underwent a liver transplant in April 2012, as part of his recovery from a tumour discovered on the organ a year prior to that.
Back in full training since the middle of December, Abidal faced a final medical assessment today after training.
As confirmed by the club via a brief statement on their website this afternoon, he is now cleared and available for selection. Barca play Sevilla at home this weekend.