Injuries leave host Russia limping ahead of World Cup
MOSCOW (AP) With less than three months to go until the World Cup in Russia, the host nation's players are dropping like flies.
A spate of knee injuries this year has left the Russians hurrying to find cover at the back and trying to replace a key attacking threat.
First, center back Georgy Dzhikiya tore his knee ligaments during a friendly in January. The same happened to Viktor Vasin a month later. Russia's defense was already thin, so those injuries prompted calls for the 35-year-old Berezutsky twins, Alexei and Vasily, to return from international retirement. They refused to do so.
Now coach Stanislav Cherchesov must also seek a replacement for Zenit St. Petersburg forward Alexander Kokorin, who tore his knee ligaments in the Europa League last week. That puts more responsibility on the shoulders of Fyodor Smolov, now likely to be Russia's undisputed first-choice striker for the World Cup.
''We're not complaining about anything,'' Cherchesov said Thursday. ''Fate is often testing us in various ways but we always try to be ready.''
The injuries mean Cherchesov will be forced to experiment during Friday's friendly against Brazil and Tuesday's game against France, both at home. Short-term medical issues have ruled three more fringe players out of those games.
Here's a closer look at the issues facing Russia ahead of the World Cup:
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FORWARDS
If you had to pick one Russian striker for the World Cup, it might as well be Fyodor Smolov.
On track to be the Russian league's top scorer for the third season in a row, Smolov has been working on his English skills as he eyes a move to the Premier League.
Smolov was linked with West Ham during the January transfer window but opted to stay with FC Krasnodar, saying he didn't want to abandon his team as it battles for a spot in the Champions League next season.
With Kokorin almost certainly out of the picture for the World Cup, Russia's backup options include Anton Zabolotny, who is still settling in at Zenit after a recent move from newly promoted FC Tosno. The 22-year-old Alexei Miranchuk can play as a forward, but is better in a deeper role.
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MIDFIELD
Russian players tend to stay in their domestic league, but there's one big exception in midfield - Denis Cheryshev.
The winger came through the Real Madrid youth system when his father was coaching there and is now at Villarreal, but frequent injuries have dented hopes he can add some spice to the national team.
Now he's fit again and in the squad to face Brazil and France.
Elsewhere in the midfield, there are the promising and creative youngsters Roman Zobnin and Alexander Golovin, but Russia doesn't currently have a dominant defensive midfielder.
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ABSENTEES
Cherchesov has a reputation as a difficult coach to get along with, and Russian media have regularly reported fallings-out with various players.
One of those outside the squad is Igor Denisov, who last played for Russia in 2016. He has been playing well in a defensive midfield role this season for Lokomotiv Moscow, the team at the top of the Russian league standings. Denisov and Cherchesov clashed during the latter's time as Dynamo Moscow coach.
Also absent from the squad is forward Artyom Dzyuba. A talented striker who has scored 11 goals in 22 games for Russia but has a reputation for being hot-headed, Dzyuba was deemed surplus to requirements at Zenit and sent on loan to Arsenal Tula. In three games there, he has scored three goals and set up two more to put himself back in the World Cup contention.
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DOPING
Russia's soccer team hasn't escaped the country's doping scandals.
Defensive midfielder Ruslan Kambolov is under investigation by FIFA for a possible doping case revealed by Moscow laboratory documents, but hasn't been suspended.
The team's schedule was disrupted Wednesday by drug-testing, which took more than five hours and delayed training. On Thursday, the team said five more doping control officers turned up to take samples from the team.
