Injured Elmander included in Sweden squad
Reuters - Monday 14 May 2012, 17:49
Injured striker Johan Elmander
was a surprise inclusion on Monday as Sweden coach Erik Hamren
named his 23-man squad for Euro 2012.
The Galatasary forward fractured a metatarsal as his side
won the title against Fenerbache and it was feared that he would
miss the tournament.
"The injury he has is the best one can get, if one has a
fractured foot. He can walk on it already," Hamren told a media
conference in Stockholm.
The Swedes open their campaign against Ukraine in Kiev on
June 11 and are in the same group as England and France.
There was no place for John Guidetti who had a stellar
season on loan at Feyernoord from Manchester City. The raw
teenager scored 20 goals for the Rotterdam club as they secured
second place in the Dutch league.
But a virus meant that he missed Feyernoord's run-in and
opened the door for Marcus Rosenberg of Werder Bremen.
The Swedes will be led by AC Milan forward Zlatan
Ibrahimovic but the defence will have to cope without Celtic
centre-back Daniel Majstorovic, who has ruptured knee ligaments.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Andreas Isaksson (PSV Eindhoven), Johan Wiland,
(FC Copenhagen, Pär Hansson (Helsingborg).
Defenders: Mikael Lustig (Celtic), Olof Mellberg
(Olympiakos), Andreas Granqvist (Genoa), Martin Olsson,
(Blackburn Rovers), Jonas Olsson (West Bromwich Albion), Behrang Safari
(Anderlecht), Mikael Antonsson (Bologna).
Midfielders: Rasmus Elm (AZ Alkmaar), Sebastian Larsson
(Sunderland), Kim Kallstrom (Lyon), Anders Svensson (Elfsborg),
Pontus Wernbloom (CSKA Moscow), Samuel Holmen (Istanbul BB),
Emir Bajrami (Twente), Christian Wilhelmsson (Al-Hilal).
Forwards: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan), Johan Elmander
(Galatasaray), Tobias Hysen (IFK Gothenburg), Ola Toivonen (PSV
Eindhoven), Marcus Rosenberg (Werder Bremen).