Injured Nihat heads for home

Turkey striker Nihat Kahveci will miss the rest of UEFA EURO 2008™ because of the thigh injury he sustained in the quarter-final win against Croatia, the Turkish Football Association (TFF) has announced.

Homeward bound
Nihat was already ruled out of Turkey's semi-final against Germany in Basel on Wednesday, but it has now been confirmed he will play no further part in the tournament. The Villarreal CF forward, who was captaining the side in the absence of injured Emre Belözoğlu, injured his right thigh three minutes from the end of extra time in Friday's dramatic last-eight victory. The 28-year-old, who scored two late goals to fire Fatih Terim's team past the Czech Republic in their final group match and into the quarter-finals, has already left Turkey's base in Vienna and will return home to Spain. "Before going, he sent his best wishes to the squad and wished them victory against Germany," the TFF website said.