Togolese football has received a major boost with the news that both coach Stephen Keshi and star player Emmanuel Adebayor are to return.

Real Madrid striker Adebayor quit the international game after a gun attack on the Togo team bus at the 2010 Nations Cup killed two members.

Adebayor has reportedly assured the federation he will play in Saturday's Group K qualifier in Malawi.

Nigeria's Keshi is already in Togo as he replaces Frenchman Thierry Froger.

Keshi previously led Togo in 2007 and between 2004-2006, a spell when he qualified the Hawks for the 2006 World Cup.

We can only hope against hope at this stage

Togo Football Federation president Gabriel Ameyi
However, a run-in with the Togolese Football Federation (TFF) after the 2006 Nations Cup meant Keshi was replaced before Germany 2006 got underway.

But Keshi, who has yet to sign an agreement with the TFF, has returned for a third time after Froger resigned to take charge of French side Nimes earlier this month.

Adebayor also withdrew from Togolese football - three months after a rebel attack in northern Angola prompted the Hawks' withdrawal from the 2010 Nations Cup.

"I have weighed up my feelings in the weeks and months since the attack," he said in April 2010.

"It is a moment I will never forget and one I never want to experience again."

But after travelling to Madrid to meet with Adebayor, TFF president Gabriel Ameyi says he received an undertaking from the former Togo captain that he will end his international exile.

"We can only hope against hope at this stage," said Ameyi.

The former Manchester City and Arsenal striker says he will fly direct to Malawi from Europe for the match.

His assurances to Ameyi prompted the TFF to formally include Adebayor in their squad for Saturday's clash in Lilongwe.

The Hawks, who lie fourth in their five-team group, desperately need to win the game if they are to have any hope of securing an unlikely qualification for the 2012 Nations Cup.

this might be too little too late as they are already almost bottom of their group