Former Arsenal midfielder and Spain international Santi Cazorla has been named in the Spain squad for the first time since 2015 after recovering from 11 operations which contribute to his exit from Arsenal.
Cazorla, 34, was sidelined for 668 days during a two-year period in which he had knee, foot and ankle surgery. He is also rumoured to have also suffered from bacteria “eating” eight centimetres of his ankle tendon.
Spain begins their European 2020 qualifying campaign in the Faroe Islands on 7 June, before hosting Sweden on 10 June in Madrid.
Cazorla has scored 14 goals in 77 games for Spain, the most recent of which was a 2-0 friendly win against England in November 2015 in which he scored the second goal.
Having joined Villarreal from Arsenal on a free transfer in July 2018, he helped them avoid relegation from La Liga this season. He has scored four goals and had 10 assists and missed only three of their 37 league games.
other players named in the squad are:
Goal Keeper: David de Gea Kepa Arrizabalaga Pau Lopez
Defenders: Dani Carvajal Sergio Ramos Mario Hermoso Diego Llorente Inigo Martinez Jordi Alba Sergi Roberto Jose Gaya and Jesus Navas.
Midfielders: Sergio Busquets, Rodrigo Hernandez, Dani Parejo, Isco Fabian Ruiz, Santi Cazorla.
Forwards: Mikel Oyarzabal, Rodrigo Moreno, Marco Asensio, Iago Aspas, and Alvaro Morata.