TEGELEN, Netherlands, June 6 (Reuters) - Spain coach Jose Antonio Camacho sprang a surprise on Tuesday as he left Raul Gonzalez out of his squad for Wednesday's final warm-up game against Luxembourg.
|  |
Raul: Missed last gasp penalty (BenRadford/Allsport) |
Raul, who has not played a competitive match since suffering
a thigh muscle strain in Real Madrid's 3-0 Champions League
final victory over Valencia last month, had been expected to
figure in the Luxembourg game despite not quite being at full
fitness.
But Camacho decided on Tuesday not to risk aggravating the
problem and included him among the six players left behind at
the team's base as the rest of the squad set off for Luxembourg
by coach.
Pep Guardiola, Ismael Urzaiz, Jose Francisco Molina, Paco
Jemez and Michel Salgado were the other players left to sit out
the match.
Those five all started Saturday's 1-1 draw against Sweden on
Saturday and are expected to play in Spain's first Euro 2000
match against Norway on June 13.
Raul is also pencilled in for that match but his struggle to
overcome what is thought to be no more than a minor injury will
be a worry for Camacho.
Spanish squad doctor Genaro Borras still expects him to be
fit for the Norway game but, after missing both the warm-up
games, Raul will be going into the match without any competitive
action for three weeks.
'The injury has improved a lot over recent days but he's
still not at 100 percent,' said Dr Borras. 'In two or three
days he should be fine, though.'
Camacho will now look for one of his secondary strikers to
fill the void left by Raul. Real Betis forward Alfonso Perez
looked a little out of touch in the draw against Sweden and he
may be given a further chance to impress.
Possible team:
Santiago Canizares; Juan Velasco, Abelardo Fernandez, Fernando Hierro, Sergi Barjuan; Gaizka Mendieta, Gerard Lopez, Vicente Engonga, Juan Carlos Valeron; Pedro Munitis, Alfonso Perez.