Returning players reassure Rehhagel
Monday, May 12, 2008
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With less than a week until Otto Rehhagel names his Greece squad, the German coach can be satisfied with the timely return to fitness of several key players.
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With less than a week until Otto Rehhagel names the 23-man Greece squad which will attempt to defend the Henri Delaunay trophy won at UEFA EURO 2004™, the German coach can take satisfaction from the timely return to fitness of a number of his key players.
Coming back
The 69-year-old coach has been harbouring fitness concerns over several members of his squad in recent months, but one by one they are nearing full fitness ahead of the Group D kick-off against Sweden in Salzburg on 10 June. Rehhagel has said previously that, should he have a fit group of players, the squad is likely to be similar to the one which was named for March's 2-1 friendly win against Portugal.
Defensive duo
Club Atlético de Madrid full-back Giourkas Seitaridis underwent achilles tendon surgery on both legs in November but has now featured in four matches, while fellow defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos has had no problems following his return to Bundesliga action at the beginning of the month with Eintracht Frankfurt after a nose injury.
Play-off knocks
Panathinaikos FC striker Dimitrios Salpingidis also sustained a nose injury recently and will wear a protective mask in his team's next matches in the Greek Super League play-offs. In the same competition, Traianos Dellas suffered a minor calf in jury while playing for AEK Athens FC, causing the defender to miss the last two matches.
Final fixtures
Rehhagel will hope none of his other players receive any injuries during the final week of club action before the Greece squad gather to start preparing for UEFA EURO 2008™. Olympiacos CFP quartet Antonios Nikopolidis, Vassilis Torosidis, Christos Patsatzoglou and Paraskevas Antzas are in Greek Cup final action against Aris Thessaloniki FC and Greece team-mate Konstantinos Chalkias on 17 May, while earlier in the week, Panathinaikos and AEK conclude their play-off campaigns. Further afield, Georgios Samaras is involved in a Scottish Premier League title battle for Celtic FC, with Seitaridis, and Bundesliga based duo Theofanis Gekas and Angelos Charisteas still having one more fixture left to fulfil in their respective league programmes.