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Barcelona
and France defender Eric Abidal, who had surgery on a liver tumour in
March, is hoping to be back to full fitness for the Champions League
final at the end of this month.

Abidal drew by far
the biggest cheer of the night at the Nou Camp on Tuesday, when he came
on as a substitute in the closing minutes of the semifinal second leg
that Barca drew 1-1 with arch rivals Real Madrid, to advance 3-1 on
aggregate.

“I hope to be ready for the final,” the popular Abidal, who had been in superb form before the operation, told reporters.

“I have never
experienced this before,” he added, referring to the incredible
reception he was given by the nearly 100,000 fans thronging the vast
arena.

“I can sense that the people love me and I love them too and will try to do my best for them on the pitch, as always.

“I am feeling fine,
I didn’t do anything for three weeks and now I’m working hard. My dream
was to come back and help the team with so many injuries.”

Short in defence

Abidal’s absence,
along with injuries to centre-back Gabriel Milito and fullbacks Maxwell
and Adriano, left coach Pep Guardiola short in defence and he was
forced to deploy midfielder Javier Mascherano in the middle alongside
Spain international Gerard Pique.

Captain Carles
Puyol, who typically plays in the centre, took Abidal’s usual position
of left back as Barca successfully nullified Real’s formidable forward
line including Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain and substitute
Emmanuel Adebayor.

“I am happy for the
group and the fans,” Abidal said after Barca, the 2009 winners,
qualified for their second final in three seasons and a meeting with
English Premier League leaders Manchester United.

They will return to
London’s Wembley stadium on May 28, the scene of their first triumph in
Europe’s elite club competition in 1992, which Guardiola took part in
as a player.

“Let’s see if we can complete the cycle,” Abidal added.

“I remember how they won in 1992 and I’d like to do it again. But
there is a lot of training and matches in between, we have to take this
game step by step.