Poborsky missing for WCup qualifiers against Romania, Armenia

AP Worldstream
Sep 29, 2004

Injured Sparta Prague midfielder Karel Poborsky was missing from
the Czech national team’s roster announced Wednesday by coach Karel
Bruckner for next month’s World Cup qualifiers against Romania and
Armenia.

Poborsky injured his calf in Sparta’s Champions League match against
Lyon on Tuesday.

“I have spoken to him and there is a chance that he could be called
up later,” Bruckner said. “But it’s in the realm of theory _ the
diagnosis is two weeks without practice.”

Also missing from the matches on Oct. 9 and 13 will be Juventus
midfielder Pavel Nedved, who announced his retirement from
international soccer on Friday.

That leaves Bruckner with only two healthy starting midfielders:
playmaker Tomas Rosicky of Dortmund and defensive half-back Tomas
Galasek of Ajax.

Another first-choice midfielder, Liverpool’s Vladimir Smicer, is out
with a long-term leg injury.

Czech Republic Roster

Goalkeepers: Jaromir Blazek (Sparta Prague), Petr Cech (Chelsea,
England), Antonin Kinsky (Saturn Ramenskoye, Russia)

Defenders: Rene Bolf (Auxerre, France), Zdenek Grygera (Ajax Amsterdam,
Netherlands), Tomas Hubschmann (Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine), Marek
Jankulovski (Udinese, Italy), Martin Jiranek (Spartak Moscow, Russia),
David Rozehnal (FC Brugge, Belgium), Tomas Ujfalusi (Fiorentina, Italy)

Midfielders: Tomas Galasek (Ajax Amsterdam, Netherlands), Jiri Jarosik
(CSKA Moscow, Russia), Radoslav Kovac (Sparta Prague), Tomas Rosicky
(Dortmund, Germany), Stepan Vachousek (Austria Vienna)

Forwards: Milan Baros (Liverpool, England), Marek Heinz
Moenchengladbach, Germany), Jan Koller (Dortmund, Germany), Vratislav
Lokvence (Bochum, Germany)