Euro 2008 - Croatia ace ruled out

Eurosport - Tue, 17 Jun 16:26:00 2008

Croatia defender Dario Knezevic will miss the rest of Euro 2008 with a knee injury.

Euro 2008 Croatia Dario Knezevic - 0

Knezevic, one of nine reserves fielded in Croatia's 1-0 Group B win over Poland in Klagenfurt on Monday, limped off in the first half and was substituted by first-choice defender Vedran Corluka.

"His injury is not serious in the long term but he is out of the European Championship with strained knee ligaments," manager Slaven Bilic told a news conference in the team's training base.

"It's a huge blow for us because he is a strong centre back."

Croatia take on Turkey in the quarter-finals in Vienna on Friday.

Midfielders Darijo Srna and Ivan Rakitic will also miss Tuesday's training to recover from minor knocks.

Werder Bremen striker Ivan Klasnic, who scored the winner against Poland in a dream return to top level football after two kidney transplants last year, is going back to Bremen for a routine medical check-up.

Reuters

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  1. His loss is a non-factor. Croatia will be alright.

    From dino s, on Wed 18 Jun 5:34PM

  2. One ace too many...

    From goldpibe, on Tue 17 Jun 6:05PM

  3. How is he an ace lol. Get a dictionary. :)

    From Ivo S, on Tue 17 Jun 4:40PM
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