Barnetta, von Bergen add to Swiss injury woes (SN)

Swiss coach Jakob “Kobi” Kuhn faced fresh headaches Wednesday with the news that key players Tranquillo Barnetta and Steve von Bergen were the latest to fall foul of injuries, the latter certain to miss the finals.

With less than three weeks before Switzerland kick off the Euro 2008 championships, Barnetta and von Bergen suffered injury in a training session in Lugano ahead of a pre-tournament match against Slovakia on Saturday, the Swiss FA said in a statement.

Barnetta will now miss that match and his colleague, Hertha Berlin defender von Bergen, will have to sit out the summer jamboree with a fractured bone in his hand, the Swiss Football Federation said in a statement.

“Bad luck remains a faithful partner of the Swiss national team,” the FA said.

Medical examinations indicate that Barnetta has sprained his ankle and torn his ligament and articular capsule, but there was no fracture, which the Federation confirmed.

The Bayer Leverkusen midfielder will sit out training until Monday.

Meanwhile von Bergen, a Hertha Berlin defender, has broken the fourth knuckle of his right hand.

He will head to a hand surgeon today, and will also not play on Saturday.

The statement added that in view of the current situation, Kuhn will not field Johan Djourou and Eren Derdiyok against Holland during the under-21 European qualifier on Saturday.

Kuhn earlier this month unveiled an initial list of players for the June championships, but he will have to drop three players by May 28, the deadline set by European football's governing body UEFA for final team lists to be submitted.