Worries for Greece and Spain

García Calvo call
Spain coach Iñaki Sáez has called up Club Atlético de Madrid defender José Antonio García Calvo to replace the injured Iván Helguera for his country's friendly against Portugal on Saturday and the crucial Group 6 qualifier against Ukraine on Wednesday. The 28-year-old García Calvo has been capped three times by his country. Meanwhile, Valencia CF midfield player David Albelda is struggling for fitness after contracting flu.

Greek tragedy
Greece, who are a point clear of Spain at the top of Group 6, have injury concerns of their own. Stelios Giannakopoulos and Paraskevas Antzas trained alone today having suffered minor injuries and their participation in Saturday's match in Armenia will be decided at the last minute.

Simão swelling
SL Benfica winger Simão Sabrosa has withdrawn from the Portugal squad to face Spain in Guimarães with a swollen toe. Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari will not draft in a replacement for that match or Wednesday's trip to Norway.

Khokhlov KO
FC Lokomotiv Moskva midfield player Dmitri Khokhlov has been ruled out of Russia's Group 10 encounter with the Republic of Ireland on Saturday with a muscle injury that will keep him out of training for a week or more.

Makaay fear
FC Bayern München striker Roy Makaay's ankle injury is worse than first thought and he could miss the Netherlands' Group 3 qualifier against Austria on Saturday. However, the Dutch have been boosted by the news that injuries to winger Andy van der Meyde, forward Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and defender Jaap Stam are not serious and all three should be available for selection.

Beckham confidence
Captain David Beckham did not train with England on Thursday but the Football Association remain "quietly confident" that he will be fit for Saturday's Group 7 game in F.Y.R. Macedonia. Beckham has a groin problem and spent the morning training in the squad's hotel gym rather than with team-mates. Injury or illness have already deprived England coach Sven-Göran Eriksson of Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard, Trevor Sinclair and Rio Ferdinand.

Sas concern
England's rivals in the race to top the group, Turkey, could be without forward Hasan Sas for their match against Liechtenstein on Saturday after he strained knee ligaments in training. Sas's prospects should be clearer after he undergoes a scan later today.

Magradze's late arrival
Finally, in Group 10, AEL Limassol FC midfield player Levan Magradze will not make his debut for Georgia against Albania this weekend after failing to join the rest of the national team in time.

Click here for yesterday's injury news.
Click here for the current state of play in all ten groups.