Thursday Sep 29 2005 14:40
West Brom midfielder Andy Johnson has had to pull out of the Wales squad for Saturday's crucial Euro 2004 qualifier against Serbia and Montenegro just hours after failing to have a red card overturned.
Johnson will miss the Millennium Stadium clash with the knee injury he sustained in Saturday's 2-0 win over Gillingham.
He has also failed to have the red card he picked up in last month's game against Stoke City rescinded.
"I'm very disappointed to miss out on the Wales game because I desperately wanted to be involved," he told the club's official website.
"The knee's clearly not right so I've got to have a week off to see if it settles down. I reported with Wales ahead of the game but they agreed that I should return for treatment.
"It's a massive blow that the appeal has been turned down.
"I'm trying not to think about it too much and the timing's not good, but I'll serve my suspension and get back to it.
"It's crazy and I can't understand it and I'm sure that John Eustace is feeling exactly the same."
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