Belarus wait on Kutuzov and Hleb

Vitali Kutuzov and Aleksandr Hleb have been named in the Belarus squad for the upcoming UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifiers against Bulgaria on 2 and 6 June but both may miss out through injury.

Hleb concern
Parma FC striker Kutuzov has been restricted to gym training as a result of an inflamed achilles tendon while Hleb may require further surgery on a knee injury. "I still feel discomfort so I went to hospital," said the Arsenal FC midfielder. "The scan revealed an injury but its extent is hard to predict. We sent the pictures to the doctor who did the original operation and he will give us his verdict in a few days." Coach Yuri Puntus will also be without the injured Artyom Kontsevoi, while Aleksei Skverniuk, Dmitri Lentsevich, Sergei Gurenko and Maksim Romashchenko are all omitted. Striker Vitali Bulyga returns after an eight-month absence.

Belarus squad
Goalkeepers: Yuri Zhevnov (FC Moskva), Vasili Khomutovski (FC Tom Tomsk), Vladimir Gaev (FC Chornomorets Odesa), Anton Amelchenko (FC Moskva).

Defenders: Sergei Omelyanchuk (FC Rostov), Sergei Shtaniuk (FC Luch-Energia Vladivostok), Aleksandr Yurevich (FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk), Artyom Chelyadinski (FC Metalurh Zaporizhya), Artyom Radkov (FC BATE Borisov), Yan Tigorev (FC Metalurh Zaporizhya), Pavel Plaskonny (FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk), Aleksei Pankovets (FC Kharkiv).

Midfielders: Timofei Kalachev (FC Rostov), Vladimir Korythko (FC Chornomorets Odesa), Aleksandr Kulchiy (FC Tom Tomsk), Denis Kovba (FC Krylya Sovetov Samara), Aleksandr Hleb (Arsenal FC), Oleg Strakhanovich (FBK Kaunas).

Forwards: Vitali Kutuzov (Parma FC), Sergei Kornilenko (FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk), Vyacheslav Hleb (FC MTZ-RIPO Minsk), Gennadi Bliznyuk (FC BATE Borisov), Roman Vasilyuk (FC Gomel), Vitali Bulyga (FC Tom Tomsk).