Mujdža to miss Bosnians' EURO play-off tie

Bosnia and Herzegovina expect to be without SC Freiburg midfielder Mensur Mujdža for both legs of their UEFA EURO 2012 play-off against Portugal after he cracked a bone in his foot.

The 27-year-old was taken off just after the hour mark in his side's 1-1 draw against France in Paris on Tuesday and did not initially appear to be too badly injured. However, following scans, he now does not expect to play again this year, having appeared in nine of his country's ten Group D fixtures.

"The results are not good," he said. "I thought it was a minor injury, but I broke a bone and I will have to rest for two or three months. I felt it when the injury happened, but I played on for another five minutes before I was replaced. Unfortunately, I can't play in the play-offs or in the autumn part of the Bundesliga. The injury wouldn't have mattered if we had won, and we were only 12 minutes from doing that."

The injury has left coach Safet Sušić with a selection headache. Defenders Saša Papac and Boris Pandža are out suspended and Mujdža, who would have been a viable option to slot into the back line, will now undergo surgery on Friday to have a small screw inserted into the broken bone. "The suspensions and injuries will make our task even tougher but we won't give up," promised Sušić, whose side meet Portugal on 11/12 and 15 November, playing the first leg at home.