Togo coach Tom Saintfiet is hopeful he may yet be able to convince Emmanuel Adebayor to return to the national team, after the striker rejected a call-up for their forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Tunisia.

"Me as national team coach, I want Adebayor to return to the national team, I want him to be there, I want him to play and I want him to score goals for our country," Saintfiet told BBC Sport.

The former Tottenham, Manchester City and Arsenal player had not been picked since failing to turn up for a Nations Cup qualifier against Djibouti in September following a row over losing the captaincy.

"I got the information that Adebayor gave a message that he is not ready to come back, but let's see what happens in the next coming weeks," he said.

"We have still a few weeks before the match, so I hope we can still convince him to return to the national team."