Benayoun in Israel squad for Euro 2012 qualifiers
Chelsea midfielder to play against Latvia, Georgia in Tel Aviv despite an ankle injury
Benayoun has not played since picking up an Achilles' injury during a League Cup game against Newcastle in September, missing Israel's losses to Greece and Croatia in October.
"I have been in contact with him since his injury and I have heard about his progress," Israel coach Luis Fernandez said. "Yossi has returned to training with Chelsea and the moment he began training, like (Dudu) Aouate, (Tal) Ben Haim and (Gal) Alberman, these are players that I cannot leave out because of their experience.
"I know that Benayoun is not 100% fit but he is the captain. It was sad to see him injured and just seeing him in the squad is very important."
Fernandez will be hoping to come away with six points from the matches against Latvia on March 26 and Georgia on March 29 to have any chance of qualifying for the team's first major tournament since the 1970 World Cup. The games will be played at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv.
Israel is fourth in Group F, three points behind second-place team Croatia, which has a game in hand.
Ben Haim was also included in the squad, even though the Portsmouth defender has not played since returning to the League Championship club in January after spending the first half of the season on loan at West Ham.
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