Wednesday, September 12, 2007

International Update: Agger injured?

From the looks of it, none of our boys suffered any major injuries today. In fact, some didn't even play which is awesome because it means there's a good chance they'll be available for Saturday at Portsmouth. Here's a round-up by player:

Sami Hyypia, Finland
Played the full ninety in his side's 0-0 draw with Poland. A win here would have been huge for the Finns chances of advancing, but since Portugal ended up tying as well, they stay in second place and live to fight another day. I doubt the 33-year-old will play versus Portsmouth considering this is his second full match in a row.

Andriy Voronin, Lithuania
Came in as a sub in the 60th minute in his country's disappointing loss in Kiev to Italy. They are pretty much eliminated from advancing now. His limited time on the pitch definitely makes him a possibility for Saturday. How you don't start Voronin in what is basically a must-win beats the snot out of me.

John Arne Riise, Norway
Riise scored an absolute cracker of a goal versus Greece today, but it wasn't enough as his side took a slight blow to their Euro advancing dreams with the 2-2 draw. I don't expect Riise to play Saturday, but he's known for his fitness and despite playing the full match, he is a possibility.

Craig Bellamy, Wales
Oops.

Steven Gerrard, England
Played the full 90 in the Three Lions crucial 3-0 victory over Russia which I guess it's good news since it means he's fit, but I doubt he'll play versus Portsmouth.

Peter Crouch, England
Came on with 10 minutes remaining for England in place of Emile Heskey. Will probably be on the bench on Saturday, but I doubt we'll see him play. Rafa will probably want to save him for our Champions League clash with FC Porto next Tuesday.

Daniel Agger, Denmark
Agger was substituted in the 28th minute of the Danes 4-0 romp over Liechtenstein. No news as of yet whether it was serious, but let's keep our fingers crossed. Losing a centre back could potentially be devastating for our side right now.

Fernando Torres, Spain
Torres played the full match and scored on a rebound in the 86th minute to assure his side's victory over Latvia. As long as he is deemed fit, I wouldn't be surprised to see Torres start against Portsmouth.

Pepe Reina, Spain
Didn't play, will start Saturday.

Ryan Babel, Netherlands
Played the full ninety for the Dutch in their last second 1-0 win over Albania, he's young though and I expect him to at least be on the bench Saturday.

Dirk Kuyt, Netherlands
Edit: Well, I just watched a majority of this match and it appeared that Kuyt was in the whole time, so it's unclear whether he'll play this weekend or not.

As soon as here something about Agger I'll post it. I'm just thankful we'll have Yossi, Xabi, JP, Arbeloa, and Momo ready for action. Cheers.

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