Source: SKY_Sports
Santa Cruz to miss qualifiers
// A bit of a hack but it works// The article snippet is wrapped onto a second line, even when #article-sub is emptyif( $("div#article-sub").children().length == 0 ) {$("div#article-sub").remove();} Manchester City striker Roque Santa Cruz will miss Paraguay's World Cup qualifiers against Bolivia and Argentina next month.[LNB] The £17million striker has yet to feature for his new club since his switch from Blackburn after failing to recover from the knee operation he underwent in April.[LNB]Now his absence looks to threaten his country's chances of reaching a fourth consecutive World Cup as he was not included in the 25-man squad named ahead of their crucial double-header next month.[LNB]Paraguay face Bolivia on 5th September before meeting Argentina four days later and boss Gerardo Martino will be hoping for an improvement after slipping from first place to third through a slump in form.[LNB]"It's the worst moment we have gone through in the elimination series," Martino told a news conference.[LNB]"We have gone four matches without winning, we've lost the last two and what was a calm run until last November has changed.[LNB]"Now we are really playing the qualifying campaign we had always imagined from the beginning," he added.[LNB]The four defeats have come in 2009 and star player Santa Cruz has not featured in any of them but Paraguay remain on course for South Africa with four games remaining as each of the top four in South America gain automatic qualification.[LNB]
