Xavi Hernandez misses out on Spain's clash with Scotland
Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez has been left out of the squad for Spain’s UEFA 2012 European Football Championship qualifying matches against Lithuania and Scotland next month.
According to reports in Spain, the 2010 FIFA World Cup winner has missed out on Vincente del Bosque’s squad, which was named on Thursday, due to him suffering from tendonitis. However, a spokesman for
his club could not confirm whether this was the case.
He joins Arsenal star Francesc Fabregas and Real Madrid defender Raul Albiol as the biggest names to miss out on the ties.
Fabregas picked up a hamstring injury in his side’s 1-1 draw in the English Premier League draw against Sunderland on 18 September. An initial prognosis indicated that the Gunners captain would be out
of action for between two and three weeks, but with a return seemingly some way off, Del Bosque has been forced to leave him out of the squad.
Albiol, meanwhile, has not yet played enough for his club after returning from a ligament injury sustained over the summer to be included in the squad.
The European champions kicked off the defence of their title with a 4-0 win over Liechtenstein this month. Scotland lead the group with Spain a point behind but La Furia Roja have a game in hand.
Four midfielders named
Del Bosque has named just four midfielders — Real Madrid’s Xabi Alonso, Villarreal’s Santi Cazorla and Barcelona pair Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta — in the 20-man squad, while he has included six
forwards, indicating that he will be likely to line up his side in an attacking formation for both matches.
Star forward Fernando Torres of Liverpool has made the cut despite struggling to impress with his club so far this season, and having had a frustrating spell in the 2010 World Cup, despite his team winning
it all. Barcelona striker David Villa has also been named with the likelihood that he will start in both matches.
"The games against Lithuania and Scotland represent very dangerous fixtures. To the uninitiated the outcome of these encounters might seem a foregone conclusion, but they are teams who are ahead of us
in the standings and any slip-up now would be very dangerous for us. Lithuania are exceptionally well organised while Scotland at home represent very tricky opponents," Del Bosque told UEFA.com.
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