OSLO, May 19 (Reuters) - Norway's injury worries are increasing by the day less than a month before the team's debut in the European championship.

'Euro 2000 crisis for Norway,' was the front page opinion of daily Dagbladet on Friday after injuries to eight players with strong chances of making the Euro 2000 squad.

'We've a great number of injuries,' coach Nils Johan Semb said. 'Two years ago we went to the World Cup finals with an injury-free squad. We were really lucky then. Now we're really unlucky.'

On Thursday, Rosenborg midfielder Erik Hoftun said a knee injury was worse than expected and he could be out for two to three weeks.

Winger Jan Derek Soerensen plans to have an operation to fix a long-running knee problem next week. 'It probably means there will be no Euro 2000 for me,' he said.

And midfielder Eirik Bakke of Leeds was injured against West Ham last weekend.

Manchester United defender Ronny Johnsen has already ruled himself out of Euro 2000 after an operation on both knees last August. Midfielder Oyvind Leonhardsen of Tottenham is out after a heel injury.

Among other nagging worries, Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a slight injury and Rosenborg Trondheim midfielder Roar Strand has been struggling with form after a string of minor knocks. Liverpool defender Vegard Heggem trained for Semb on Thursday but has been struggling with a leg strain.

But Semb still believes Norway will be hard to beat next month in Euro 2000 group C against Spain, Yugoslavia and Slovenia. Norway have lost only three times since mid-1998.

Norway play Slovakia on May 27 and Italy on June 3 in Oslo in the final friendlies before Euro 2000.