Russia suffer double setback
Tuesday, June 1, 2004
Article summary
Sergei Ignashevitch and Aleksandr Panov have been ruled out of the finals of UEFA EURO 2004™ due to injury.
Article body
Medical examinations
The news broke today after an extensive medical examination of all the national team players took place yesterday at the Russian training camp in Bor near Moscow. Team manager Aleksandr Chernov announced that PFC CSKA Moskva defender Ignashevitch and FC Torpedo Moskva striker Panov will not travel to Portugal based on the results of the fitness tests.
Onopko doubt
He did not, however, elaborate on what kind of injuries the pair have sustained. It has also been reported that Russian captain Viktor Onopko is likely to miss the tournament with a knee injury.
Key defender
While Panov is on the fringes of Georgi Yartsev's side, Ignashevitch is a key centre-back for Russia. Roman Sharonov of FC Rubin Kazan or Aleksei Bugayev of Torpedo, who both won their first international caps recently, could take his place in the 23-man party.
