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Totti forced to withdraw for Italy

Italy have lost Francesco Totti for their forthcoming EURO 2004™ qualifiers.

Italy have lost Francesco Totti for their forthcoming EURO 2004™ qualifiers but Turkey have been given a major boost with the unexpected return of striker Ilhan Mansiz.

Ruled out
AS Roma forward Totti has been ruled out after joining up with the rest of the squad in Florence. Tests showed he has suffered a recurrence of the knee injury he had during pre-season and he will miss Saturday's home match with Yugoslavia and next week's trip to Wales. There are also concerns about Filippo Inzaghi's lingering foot problems.

No replacement
"It is the left knee, the same one that gave me problems this summer," said Totti. The news will be a big blow for Giovanni Trapattoni, who is already without Christian Vieri, Marco Materazzi and Francesco Toldo for the Group 9 matches. However, the Italy coach has decided not to call in a replacement. "I will not call up another player," he said. "I already have many options."

Ilhan surprise
Knee trouble was also the reason why Ilhan was originally left out of the Turkey squad for Saturday's trip to F.Y.R. Macedonia and Wednesday's home game with Liechtenstein. Before the weekend he had not played for his club Besiktas JK since August but had been undergoing extensive treatment.

'Playing to win'
After playing in Sunday's goalless draw with Gaziantepspor, Ilhan convinced Turkey coach Senol Gunes that he was fit to return for their Group 7 encounters. "We have added Ilhan to the squad as he doesn't have any health problems anymore," said the coach. "We have to be successful in both games. No game can be won without playing to win."

Perfect start
Turkey got their campaign off to a perfect start last month with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Slovakia in Istanbul and, with England waiting, are eager to keep their good run going after a spectacular third-place finish at the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals. "We wanted nine points from the first three games. Now that we have got three of them we are aiming for the next six."

Olisadebe out
Another nation to lose an influential player are Poland. Panathinaikos FC forward Emmanuel Olisadebe is highly unlikely to face Latvia on Saturday because of illness. Coach Zbigniew Boniek had already lost defender Jacek Bak and attacking midfield player Radoslaw Kaluzny for the Group 4 match.

Rest in bed
"Oli must rest in bed for the next three days," Boniek said. "Nothing indicates he will be able to play at full strength on Saturday." Legia Warszawa's in-form midfielder Lukasz Surma has been called up to fill the void.

Eriksson concerns
England defender Sol Campbell has also been laid low by illness, with the Arsenal FC player complaining of a stomach upset. "He is seeing the doctor today to find out what the problem is," said England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson who is also awaiting the results of an ankle scan on Paul Scholes but is confident he will be fit to travel to Slovakia for Saturday's game before Wednesday's home tie with F.Y.R Macedonia.

Trezeguet back
France have recalled striker David Trezeguet after he made his return for Juventus FC in Serie A at the weekend. The forward's return for the games against Slovenia and Malta is a boost for coach Jacques Santini who is without Djibril Cissé and Olvier Kapo. Denmark may also have to think about adding another striker with fitness concerns over Jon Dahl Tomasson, having already lost goalkeeper Thomas Sørensen and defender Thomas Helveg.

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