Italy lose Cassano for Czech test

uefa.com rounds up all the latest news regarding Wednesday's friendlies involving 15 of the 16 UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifiers.

A number of countries are left counting the cost of the weekend's football ahead of midweek matches, particularly Croatia and the Czech Republic, whose goalkeeper Petr Cech faces a month on the sidelines.

Dislocated elbow
The talented Stade Rennais FC custodian twisted his left arm in Ligue 1 action on Saturday, and medical tests revealed a dislocated elbow which will sideline the 21-year-old for four weeks, keeping him out of the trip to face fellow UEFA EURO 2004™ finalists Italy in Palermo. Antonín Kinsky of FC Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast will hope to add to his three caps after being called up.

Delvecchio in, pair out
When the Azzurri named their squad, captain Fabio Cannavaro was excluded due to a thigh injury sustained last week. AS Roma forward Antonio Cassano has withdrawn after a knee injury suffered on Sunday against Ancona Calcio and has been replaced by club-mate Marco Delvecchio.

Tudor injured
Defender Igor Tudor, will miss Croatia's friendly against Germany in Split. The Juventus FC player damaged a thigh in the Italian Cup semi-final success against FC Internazionale. The NK Dinamo Zagreb captain Niko Kranjcar, 19, has also been ruled out with a similar injury.

Andric selected
Coach Otto Baric has turned to HNK Hajduk Split midfield player Srdjan Andric to replace Kranjcar, while Mario Tokic, who plays for Austria's Grazer AK, fills in for Tudor. The Croatians are also without Tomislav Sokota after he limped out of SL Benfica's 1-1 draw against FC Porto last night. Germany have two absences through illness, defender Marco Rehmer and midfield player Michael Ballack.

King included
Another match bringing together two EURO 2004™ qualifiers is the friendly between Portugal and England. The tournament hosts have a clean bill of health, while England are without defender Sol Campbell, who aggravated his groin in Arsenal FC's FA Cup victory against Chelsea FC yesterday. Tottenham Hotspur FC's Ledley King has been called up.

Repeat injury
Like England, Switzerland will compete in Group B this summer. On Wednesday they meet losing African Cup of Nations finalists Morocco and are expected to be without Ludovic Magnin. The SV Werder Bremen defender tore a thigh muscle in training for yesterday's Bundesliga defeat of 1. FC Kaiserslautern. "Our club doctor has identified the tear as the same injury which has troubled me twice previously," he said.

Reiziger withdraws
Two Group D challengers, the Netherlands and Latvia, have also lost personnel. FC Barcelona defender Michael Reiziger has withdrawn from the Dutch squad to play the United States in Amsterdam after damaging his leg during Barcelona's 3-1 victory against Club Atlético de Madrid. AFC Ajax's Nigel de Jong is the veteran's deputy.

Club-mates
Igors Korablovs will miss Latvia's bid to win an eight-nation tournament in Cyprus, starting against Kazakhstan on Wednesday. The FK Ventspils defender makes way for club-mate Vladimirs Zavoronkovs, while FC Skonto's No2 goalkeeper Andrejs Pavlovs has been drafted in to replace his club-mate, No1 Andrejs Piedels. Another Skonto player, teenager Igors Semjonovs, did not travel last night due to sickness.

Petrov tests
Denmark coach Morten Olsen has turned to Jan Michaelsen for the game against Turkey. The Panathinaikos FC midfield player will take the place of Christian Poulsen of FC Schalke O4 who has a thigh injury. Bulgaria, Denmark's second opponents at EURO 2004™, will examine captain Stilian Petrov today before deciding whether he is fit to face Greece, who have made one change - Ioannis Amanatidis coming in for Stylianos Giannakopoulos of Bolton Wanderers FC.