|
NEWCASTLE, England, Oct 14 - Newcastle United
striker Craig Bellamy has been ruled out of their UEFA Cup first
round return leg at NAC Breda on Wednesday after the recurrence
of a knee injury, said manager Bobby Robson. Newcastle, who lead 5-0 after last month's first leg at St
James' Park, were told about the injury by Bellamy on his return
from international duty after he played the full 90 minutes in
Wales' 3-2 loss to Serbia and Montenegro in Cardiff on Saturday. Robson told reporters on Tuesday that the 24-year-old, who
scored twice in the home leg three weeks ago, has not travelled
with the Newcastle squad to the Netherlands. Bellamy has a history of problems with both knees and a
frustrated Robson said: "He is injured. He is not travelling and
we have to look at that situation again very closely, which the
club will do," said the Newcastle manager. "We'll be getting a medical bulletin. The boy was sent for
scans yesterday (Monday) to compare his knee to what it was when
he came back from a Welsh match earlier this season and
complained about it and insisted that he needed to be out of the
game for a little while to recover." SAME SITUATION Robson confirmed that the problem knee was the same one that
led to his absence from the Newcastle team following the Euro
2004 qualifier with Serbia and Montenegro in Belgrade in August. "It's the same situation," Robson added. "We've sent him for
scans to compare it to what it was like a month ago when he
complained bitterly about it. "In the meantime, he recovered, said that he had never felt
better in his life and now he's come back injured so we will
just have to look at that." Bellamy's knee problem could also prevent him playing at
Middlesbrough in the premier league on Saturday. Wales manager Mark Hughes will be concerned as he prepares
for the two-legged Euro 2004 playoff with Russia next month. Newcastle have a big lead from the first leg, Robson is keen
to avoid complacency against Breda. "I know we're in the comfort zone but it's not automatic
that we'll go through and we must give a professional
performance," he said. "NAC will try to restore some of their credibility. We have
a luxury with this one but we won't be over-complacent. We don't
want to give them a sniff of victory."
|
