Pepe returns to Ivory Coast team replacing hurt Diomande

Pepe found himself excluded from the preliminary selection for the upcoming friendlies versus South Korea in Milton Keynes, England, this Saturday, and versus Scotland in Liverpool on 31 March.

The 30-year-old also missed the Africa Cup of Nations event in Morocco earlier this year, during which the Ivorians sought to hold onto their crown yet bowed out in the quarter-finals.

This French-born ex-Arsenal forward, with five LaLiga strikes to his name for Villarreal over the current term, earned his latest of 50 outings for the Elephants back in October, though he soon ignited debate with remarks in a YouTube clip touching on Moroccos underwhelming history in the Nations Cup.

He offered an apology, while insisting he endured racial slurs via the internet and pointing fingers at the Ivorian football authority for leaving him without aid.

Ivory Coast sit in World Cup Group E alongside Ecuador, Germany, and Curacao.