Czech camp confident of Koller's comeback

WESTERBURG, Germany, June 13 (Reuters) The question over injured Czech Republic striker Jan Koller's return to his team's World Cup bid today became 'when' rather than 'if', relief for the side whose perfect start was soured by worries over him.

Koller, whose early goal helped the Czechs to a 3-0 win against the United States yesterday, was initially said by coach Karel Brueckner to have sustained a ''serious'' injury but a team spokesman later said it was not as bad as they had thought.

Although unlikely to be fit for Saturday's Group E match against Ghana, the 2.04-metre (6ft 7in) striker will not be packing his bags just yet.

''Definitely his start in further matches is not ruled out,'' team doctor Petr Krejci said on the Czech Republic Football Association's Web site www.fotball.cz.

Koller said he might only have to miss one game.

''I will have four days' rest now and I am confident I will be back for our third group game,'' he said on the FIFA World Cup Web site.

Koller's absence in the near future, though, puts pressure on strike partner Milan Baros to recover quickly from a foot injury sustained in a friendly on June 3.

Baros, top scorer in Euro 2004 when the Czech Republic reached the semi-finals, has hardly trained in the past week and coach Karel Brueckner said it was difficult to know when he would be back on the pitch.

''His situation has been the same for the past 10 days ... we don't know (when he will be fit),'' Brueckner told reporters.

Without Koller and Baros, the Czechs' World Cup campaign may well be driven by their strong midfield, with Pavel Nedved at the heart of their flowing moves and Tomas Rosicky unafraid of taking shots, as proven by his two goals on Monday.

If his form continues, 25-year-old Rosicky -- whose first goal was an impressive shot from 25 metres out -- could steer the team to success, even without the injured strikers.

Saturday's game against Ghana is on paper the easiest of their three group ties, although the Czechs will not be complacent. Italy, who beat Ghana 2-0 on Monday, are the other team in the group.

''It's a nice feeling to have won the first match ... (but) there are two tough matches ahead of us,'' said Brueckner.

Aside from injuries, the other worry for the Czechs could be yellow cards after several players picked up careless bookings against the United States.

Rosicky, Zdenek Grygera, Vratislav Lokvenc and David Rozehnal all received cards and would be forced to miss out against Italy if they pick up another card against Ghana.

The Czech-Italy game could decide who faces a possible showdown with Brazil in the last 16 stage, something both teams would be keen to avoid.

Reuters

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