A slender right-winger with an electrifying turn of pace, Vladimir Bystrov has endured a career pockmarked with injuries. He remains an enigmatic figure in Russian football circles but, if selected, UEFA EURO 2012 will be the third successive UEFA European Championship at which he has been present.

• Showed early promise at local club FC Zenit St Petersburg, where he made his Russian Premier League debut at 18; his first start for the team was in the 2002 Russian Cup final − a 2-0 defeat by PFC CSKA Moskva.

• Earned his first international cap in March 2004 and was included in Russia's squad for the UEFA European Championship later that year but had just 18 minutes of action at the finals − as a substitute in a 2-0 defeat by Portugal.

• Joined FC Spartak Moskva midway through the 2005 season and was a runner-up in the Russian title race in each of his first three campaigns; made his UEFA Champions League debut in 2006/07 and played in all six matches for Spartak in the group stage.

• A regular in Guus Hiddink's UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying plans, he scored his first international goal in a 2-0 win in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia but missed the end of the campaign with ligament damage to his left knee and made just two substitute appearances at the finals.

• Scored a career-best tally of ten league goals in the 2009 season − four for Spartak and six for Zenit, where he returned in mid-campaign and won the domestic double the following year.