Abou Diaby MarseilleGettyimages

Diaby returns to training after seven months out

Marseille midfielder Abou Diaby is back in training after seven months on the sidelines.

Obviously I don't cover 30% of the Earth! - Kante

The 30-year-old former Arsenal star has not played since OM’s August defeat in Guingamp, having suffered from an ankle injury that required surgery.

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Having managed just 130 minutes of football this season, he will, nevertheless, have to be patient before turning out for Rudi Garcia’s side again. A statement from the club read: “To be available and strong enough to play, he will need plenty of time.”

France international midfielder Diaby is a figure who has had notoriously bad luck with his body throughout his career. Having signed for Marseille in the summer of 2015, it would be March 2016 before he eventually made his debut for them, managing just 135 minutes of league action in his first campaign.

He spent nine years with Arsenal but made only 200 appearances for the Gunners, including just a handful in his last four seasons at the club, which were plagued with problems. Indeed, from March 2013 through until his release in May 2015, he turned out in only one Premier League match – that against Norwich as a substitute on the final day of the 2013-14 season.

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