Ukraine coach worried by injuries, depth of squad

KIEV, June 6 (Reuters) Ukraine coach Oleg Blokhin's main headaches are injuries to senior players and a lack of depth in key positions as they prepare for their first World Cup, he said in an interview published today.

Striker Andriy Shevchenko, the team's mainstay, has been sidelined by a knee injury though he is still scheduled to play in Ukraine's last warm-up game on Thursday against Luxembourg.

Defender Serhiy Fyodorov is nursing a hip injury which team doctors initially described as minor.

''Unfortunately, the (Ukrainian soccer) federation could not solve our main problem -- the depth of our squad,'' Blokhin told Profil magazine in comments posted on Dynamo Kiev's Web site.

''I am talking about injuries to Fyodorov and Shevchenko and the lack of a quality right sided defender in Ukrainian soccer over the three years I have been in charge of this team.'' Referring to Shevchenko, who last week completed a transfer from AC Milan to English champions Chelsea, Blokhin said: ''Doctors banned him from activity for two weeks. He missed the final preparations and joins in on the eve of the tournament.

''But we are counting on his talent and professionalism. And he has sustained worse injuries.'' Blokhin said injuries meant Ukraine had to include four of its under-21 team, who lost 3-0 to the Netherlands in Sunday's European Championship final in Portugal, in the squad.

''Although our prospects do not look too rosy, we are going off to Germany to fight hard,'' he said.

''I told the boys at a gathering that it would be shameful to go to the championship and not advance from our group and lose all our matches.'' Ukraine's final series of warm-up matches have included victories against Costa Rica and Libya and a draw with Italy.

They open their World Cup campaign on June 14 against Spain in Group H, which also includes Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.

Blokhin said none of the matches would be a pushover.

''There will be no whipping boys around, and that includes Saudi Arabia even if they have been losing match after match,'' he said.

''My main concern is to ensure we suffer no more injuries before the championship begins.'' REUTERS DH BST1946