Rosicky, Cech boost for Czechs after scans

PRAGUE (AFP) –

Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech eyes the ball during the Euro 2012 championships match against Greece in Wroclaw, Poland, on June 12. Czech stars Cech and Tomas Rosicky have good chances of being fit for their side’s final Euro 2012 Group A clash against co-hosts Poland after undergoing scans on Wednesday.

Czech stars Tomas Rosicky and Petr Cech have good chances of being fit for their side’s final Euro 2012 Group A clash against co-hosts Poland after undergoing scans on Wednesday.

Both players – two of the few remaining players still in the squad from the flair-filled Czech side that reached the Euro 2004 semi-finals – would be huge losses to the Czechs were they unable to play.

“We could see them both play (against Poland on Saturday) in the end. There’s a big chance,” the website of the DNES broadsheet quoted chief team doctor Petr Krejci as saying after the scans.

There had been serious concern over the injury-prone Rosicky, who was unable to come back out for the second-half of the crucial 2-1 win over Greece on Tuesday because of a sore Achilles tendon.

The scan, though, showed no damage to either the tendon or the tissue according to Krejci.

But the Arsenal midfielder himself was not so upbeat.

“I had a similar injury in the spring. At that time, I skipped practice during the week and then went straight onto the pitch,” he said.

“I’m glad the tendon as such is OK, but it’s still swollen. It has never hurt like this. It even hurts when I walk, I can’t really stand on the leg,” he told the public Czech Television.

“I’m not giving up, we waited for this moment for a long time. And I want to play if possible,” said Rosicky, the Czech team captain.

Chelsea keeper Cech took over the captaincy after Rosicky failed to come back out for the second-half against Greece, and finished the game with a sore left shoulder.

“The scan didn’t show an injury to the joint, the bones or tissue,” said Krejci.

He added both Rosicky and Cech would skip Thursday’s practice but they should undergo the pre-game practice on Friday to make sure they can play against Poland.

“If a player starts without training, there’s a risk he will walk off the pitch in five minutes. We want to know sooner than that,” Krejci said.

He added there was 75-percent probability that both Rosicky and Cech will play on Saturday.

In their last Group A game, the Czechs need a win against Poland to advance to the quarter-finals, or a draw if Greece don’t beat group leaders Russia in the other game.