Prolific Tevez finally comes in from the cold

– Carlos Tevez (right) will end his three-year international exile in the familiar surroundings of Upton Park when Argentina tackle Croatia in a friendly in London tonight.

Tevez has not played for Argentina since their quarterfinal defeat on penalties by Uruguay on home soil at the 2011 Copa America, when he was the only player to miss a spot-kick.

Frozen out by former coach Alejandro Sabella, who stood down after steering Argentina to second place at the World Cup, Tevez has been recalled by Sabella’s

London

successor Gerardo Martino.

By coincidence, the 30-year-old stands to make his international return at the home of West Ham United, the club he rescued from relegation in 2007.

Tevez spent only one season at Upton Park, but he is fondly remembered there after scoring a winning goal at Manchester United on the season’s final day that spared West Ham from slipping into the second tier.

He subsequently joined Manchester United, winning two league titles and the Champions League, before going on to enjoy comparable success at Manchester City and his current club, Juventus.

However, Sabella’s belief that he and Lionel Messi could not be accommodated in the same team meant that Tevez’s international career slipped into limbo.

The squat, bustling striker demonstrated his ability with a brace in Juventus’ 7- 0 rout of Parma on Sunday, including a thrilling solo goal that saw him run from inside his own half.

But with Messi having developed a fruitful understanding with Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero, Martino has warned that he may have to wait for opportunities to add to his 64 caps and 13 international goals.

“It’s a fact that Lionel plays very well with Higuain and Kun (Aguero), and we forget that he played with Tevez in a previous time,” said the former Barcelona coach, whose team face Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in another friendly game in Manchester next week.

“I can’t guarantee he will be in the 11 or on the bench, but it will happen in some moment that both (Messi and Tevez) can be together on the pitch.” –