They are down to 16 at the African Cup of Nations and some surprising teams are heading home with heads bowed, but one man's sorrow is another's joy and there are a total of 28 players returning to clubs in Ligue 1 (14), Serie A (5) , EPL (5) and the Bundesliga (4), 12 from Algeria alone. Many of those players were expected to be away for longer and it is a real boost for some clubs, that need not overly concern us today, but I am sure we will discuss it more in the coming days.  There are some big names returning, but in terms of numbers, Metz and Lecce did best, each getting three returnees.

Good luck!