Thigh grief for Hearts' Jankauskas
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Article summary
Striker Edgaras Jankauskas will miss Heart of Midlothian FC's first UEFA Cup tie and Lithuania's UEFA EURO 2008™ openers with a thigh injury.
Article body
Edgaras Jankauskas will miss Heart of Midlothian FC's first UEFA Cup tie and Lithuania's two UEFA EURO 2008™ openers due to a thigh injury.
Familiar problem
The striker underwent tests at his national team's training camp ahead of their Group B qualifiers against Italy on Saturday and Scotland next Wednesday, which revealed a small thigh tear. "I really wanted to play for Lithuania, but the recurrence of this old injury has stopped me," the 31-year-old said. "I will be out for at least a month." That absence will cause Jankauskas to sit out Hearts's UEFA Cup first-round meeting with Czech club AC Sparta Praha, with the two legs being played on 14 and 28 September.
Fresh injection
Consolation for Jankauskas came with the news that Hearts have increased their Lithuanian contingent to seven players with the arrivals of striker Andrius Velicka and winger Kestutis Ivaškevicius on loan from FBK Kaunas. Velicka, 27, and Ivaškevicius, 21, were both on trial with the Edinburgh club earlier in the summer.
