Czech Republic

Injured Rosicky out against Turkey in Euro

Saint-Étienne (France) (AFP) – Czech Republic captain Tomas Rosicky said Friday he would miss his country’s final Group D game at Euro 2016 against Turkey on Tuesday because of a fresh hamstring injury.

The midfielder added he was most probably out for the rest of the tournament too.

The injury-prone 35-year-old fell on the pitch grabbing his hamstring while sprinting unmarked at the end of his team’s 2-2 draw with Croatia, which was overshadowed by flares thrown onto the pitch by Croatian fans. 

“I felt well, I knew we needed a point so I forced it even when I had run out of steam,” said Rosicky.

“Unfortunately I paid for this.”

He added he would hardly play if the Czechs made it to the knock-out phase.

“As you saw, I picked up the ball, I set out and got virtually knocked down — but nobody even touched me.”

“It doesn’t look good at all.”

Against Croatia, the Czechs came back from 2-0 down following a lacklustre 75 minutes.

They equalised with a 94th minute penalty after the match was briefly interrupted to clear the flares from the pitch.

The Czech Republic have a single point and need to beat Turkey if they want to stand a chance of reaching the last-16 phase.

“The boys are due to play a wonderful match in which everything will be at stake. I’m sure I won’t be there,” Rosicky said.

Rosicky played only 19 minutes for Arsenal last season because of injuries plaguing him since a Euro qualifier in Iceland in June 2015.

His 10-year stint with the London side will come to an end in July as he wasn’t offered a renewal to his contract.

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