Shevchenko "50/50" for England match
Reuters - Monday 18 June 2012, 08:08
Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko
has a 50/50 chance of turning out for Tuesday's crucial Euro
2012 game against England and will have the last word on whether
he plays, the national team's doctor said on Monday.
Leonid Mironov, speaking on Studiya 1+1 channel, said that
the tissue was still swollen in Shevchenko's troublesome knee
which took two blows in the Group D loss to France and win over
Sweden.
The 35-year-old veteran striker, who scored both goals in
his side's 2-1 win over the Swedes, missed training on Sunday
because he could not bend his knee joint properly, Mironov said.
Ukraine rely heavily on his attacking flair and his absence
from the match against England, which they have to win in order
to qualify for the quarter finals, would be a huge setback.
"Andriy Shevchenko's condition as of 23:00 lights-out last
night was satisfactory. There is less fluid in his knee joint.
But the knee tissue is still swollen and he cannot fully bend
his knee joint," Mironov said.
"Today we'll hold a doctors' council to decide whether he
can take part in evening training. We will firstly take into
account the player's feelings and what he wants. Andriy will
have the last word as he knows his knee better than anyone
else," he said.
"This morning the chances that Shevchenko will play against
England are fifty-fifty. I think that Andriy, with all his
desire to prove to the country and the whole world that he is a
real professional, will do his best to play," Mironov added.
Coach Oleg Blokhin was likely to give further details on
Monday about Shevchenko's chances of being fit for the match.
If Shevchenko cannot play, Blokhin may bring in Serbian-born
striker Marco Devic to partner Andriy Voronin in attack.
Shevchenko is Ukraine's record scorer with 48 goals and was
European Footballer of the Year in 2004.
He scored 175 goals for Milan between 1999 and 2006, winning
the Champions League in 2003, but a move to Chelsea proved
disappointing. He returned to Dynamo Kiev, where he started his
career, in 2009 after a loan spell back at Milan.
Apart from his skill and experience, he is regarded as an
inspirational figure whose mere presence on the field can get
the best out of his team-mates.