Czech Republic captain Tomas Rosicky will miss his team's friendly against Ukraine in Lviv on August 15, head coach Michal Bilek said after naming a 19-man squad on Tuesday.
The 31-year-old Arsenal midfielder has been grappling with an Achilles tendon injury since the Czech Republic's group stage game against Greece at the Euro 2012 tournament co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine.
Rosicky, whose team reached the Euro quarter-finals, underwent surgery last month.
"Tomas is not in a good shape," Bilek said, adding that the captain was certain also to miss the Czech Republic's first World Cup 2014 qualifier in Denmark on September 8.
"We'll be glad if he joins us after the Denmark game," Bilek said, dismissing rumours suggesting the injury-prone Rosicky might end his international career.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Petr Cech (Chelsea/ENG), Jan Lastuvka (Dnepropetrovsk/UKR), Jaroslav Drobny (Hamburg/GER)
Defenders: Frantisek Rajtoral (Plzen), Tomas Sivok (Besiktas/TUR), Michal Kadlec (Leverkusen/GER), Theodor Gebre Selassie (Bremen/GER), David Limbersky (Plzen), Marek Suchy (Spartak Moscow/RUS)
Midfielders: Jaroslav Plasil (Bordeaux/FRA), Jan Rezek (Famagusta/CYP), Daniel Kolar (Plzen), Vladimir Darida (Plzen), Petr Jiracek (Wolfsburg/GER), Milan Petrzela (Augsburg/GER), Vaclav Pilar (Wolfsburg/GER), Tomas Hubschman (Donetsk/UKR)
Forwards: David Lafata (Jablonec), Tomas Pekhart (Nuremberg/GER)
Source: AFP
