Guti goes off duty

Guti withdrawn
Real Madrid CF midfield player Guti has been forced to miss Spain's Group 6 games against Greece and Northern Ireland after spraining his ankle during a training session. Guti caught his foot in a hole on the Spanish training pitch and although team doctors initially gave him 24 hours to recover, coach Iñaki Sáez has now allowed him to return to Madrid. The coach has called FC Barcelona's Gabri into the squad as a replacement.

Turkish trauma
Turkey have their problems too after two players withdrew from Senol Günes's squad for the games against Slovakia and F.Y.R. Macedonia. Sergen Yalçin has a knee injury while forward Fatih Tekke has picked up a calf strain - both will be unavailable for the two games as Turkey try and overhaul England to regain top spot in Group 7.

Markov misery
Bulgaria coach Plamen Markov's preparations for his side's Group 8 game against Belgium are proving to be traumatic after yet another player withdrew from his squad. The 31-year-old PFC Litex Lovech defender Zlatomir Zagorcic has been forced to pull out after failing to respond to treatment on an injury picked up in the final game of the A PFG season. He has been replaced by his Litex team-mate Zhivko Zhelev, who has not featured in the national team since 2001.

Munteanu injured
Over in Group 2, Romania have their share of problems too, with coach Anghel Iordanescu admitting that "all my plans must be now reconsidered and a part of the team must be changed" after 35-year-old midfield player Dorinel Munteanu pulled out of training with a pulled muscle in his left leg which has ruled him out of the games against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Norway.

'It's a nightmare'
Had Munteanu played both games, he would have become Romania's second most-capped player of all time with 116 appearances, but he did not want to be reminded of that fact. "I'm not interested in records, leave me in peace with such rubbish," said the VfL Wolfsburg player. "It's a nightmare, because I wanted to play those two crucial games."

Holiday heartache
Romania have been suffering from a spate of injuries after Iulian Filipescu withdrew from the squad yesterday. FC Steaua Bucuresti midfield player George Ogararu has also been dismissed from the squad after failing to turn up to training after missing his flight when returning from a holiday in Spain with his girlfriend.

Banin out
In Group 1, Israel will be without team captain Tal Banin for their vital game against Slovenia after he picked up a knee injury in the final game of the Israeli season. Haim Revivo will take his place. Finally, in Group 9, Finland coach Antti Muurinen has brought in SC Heerenveen midfield player Mika Väyrynen from the Under-21 squad as a replacement for his IF Elfsborg counterpart Jari Ilola, who is out of the squad for the Group 9 games against Serbia and Montenegro and Italy after spraining his ankle.