2006 FIFA World Cup Coverage

Injuries hamper four teams

By TIMES WIRES
Published June 25, 2006

BERLIN - Italy, Brazil, Switzerland and England have injury issues for their second-round games.

Swiss defender Philippe Senderos will miss two weeks after dislocating his right shoulder Friday against South Korea. Senderos, who scored the first goal Friday, fell on his right elbow during a scramble with two Koreans. That came after Senderos scored on a header, butting heads with a South Korean defender. Both players sustained superficial cuts and had blood running down their faces.

Italian defender Alessandro Nest will sit out Monday. Nesta, 30, has played 77 times for Italy since 1996. The only member of Italy's current team who has played more is fellow central defender Fabio Cannavaro at 96.

But he has been bothered by a muscle problem in his right thigh for the past few months and aggravated it early Thursday against the Czech Republic.

Marco Materazzi came on for Nesta against the Czechs and scored the first goal. He will likely replace Nesta again Monday.

Brazil might be without striker Robinho, a key reserve. He left Saturday's practice early because of a right thigh injury. Robinho, who started Thursday's 4-1 win over Japan, was injured while taking a shot.

He put his hand on the leg immediately after and did not continue practicing. He met with Brazil's doctors on the sideline and was taken to the locker room.

Brazil doctor Jose Luiz Runco said it appeared to be a "light injury" but added that the full extent of the injury isn't known.

Finally, English defender Gary Neville will miss today's game and might miss the rest of the tournament after failing to get through practice because of an injured calf. Neville, 31, missed the 2002 tournament with a broken metatarsal bone and played only in England's opener against Paraguay this time. Owen Hargreaves has been replacing him.

"(Neville) worked on Friday a lot on the pitch but felt it a little bit on Saturday morning when he woke up," England coach Sven-Goran Erikkson said. "It's one step backwards for him."

But fellow defender Rio Ferdinand, who sustained a groin injury in the opener, is expected to play today.

TURKEY: The next three home international matches will be played at neutral sites without fans instead of six, FIFA decided. FIFA's appeal committee said it received apologies from the Turkish federation, Turkish midfielder Emre Belozoglu and Swiss midfielder Benjamin Huggel. The two wrestled each other to the ground at November's qualifier in Istanbul. Turkey won 4-2, but Switzerland advanced based on away goals, sparking scuffles between players and coaching staffs in the tunnel.

ARRESTS: Police broke up two brief but violent disturbances involving English fans in Stuttgart, arresting more than 300 the day before England plays Ecuador. After a 2-0 win, German fans were singing when English fans began throwing plastic chairs and bottles, police said. Five Germans were injured.

Earlier Saturday in the same area, police arrested 122 English fans who were throwing bottles and glasses at passers-by from a pub terrace. No injuries were reported, and those arrested will be held until Monday, police said.

[Last modified June 25, 2006, 04:28:24]