Hradecky adds to Finland concerns

Finland's injury misfortunes continued on Wednesday when goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky was forced to withdraw from their squad for the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship because of a knee problem.

Risk
Hradecky would have been Finland's third-choice goalkeeper at the tournament and coach Markku Kanerva said he did not want to risk exasperating a meniscus problem sustained with his club side Esbjerg fB. "Lukas has been able to train with the team, but we do not want to risk the young player's health now we know how severe the injury is," he said. "We will need him in the autumn and the knee has to be taken care of now."

Injury problems
Finland's first-choice goalkeeper Tomi Maanoja was injured shortly after helping his side achieve qualification with a shoot-out victory against Austria in the play-offs, while on Tuesday midfielder Ilari Äijälä was added to the squad after Mika Ojala was forced to pull out. Finland kick off their Group B campaign against England in the tournament's opening match on 15 June.