Latvia’s injury problems have worsened ahead of the Baltic Cup, with Vladislavs Gutkovskis, Dmitrijs Zelenkovs and Eduards Dašķevičs all ruled out of Saturday’s semi-final against Lithuania.
The Latvian Football Federation confirmed on Thursday that the trio will miss the match in Kaunas due to injury. Gutkovskis’ availability had already been in doubt because of a knee issue, but it has now been confirmed that the experienced forward will not be able to help the national team during the tournament.
They join an already lengthy injury list that includes Roberts Uldriķis, Kristers Tobers, Raimonds Krollis, Renārs Varslavāns and Jānis Ikaunieks, leaving head coach Paolo Nicolato short of several key players.
Gutkovskis’ absence leaves Latvia with only two natural centre-forwards in the squad – Marko Regža, who recently completed the season with Czech club Hradec Kralove, and Dario Šits, who plays for Atlético Madrid B in Spain.
The scale of Latvia’s injury crisis is highlighted by the fact that only five players remain available from the group that started at least six of Latvia’s eight World Cup qualifying matches last year. Goalkeeper Krišjānis Zviedris and defenders Andrejs Cigaņiks, Daniels Balodis, Raivis Jurkovskis and Antonijs Černomordijs are the only players from that core group expected to be available against Lithuania.
Latvia will face Lithuania in the Baltic Cup semi-final on Saturday at Darius and Girėnas Stadium in Kaunas. More than 10,000 spectators are expected for the match, which kicks off at 16:00 local time.
