By Chris Wright
Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque has chosen to omit Barcelona midfielder Xavi from his squad for their upcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers with Lithuania (October 8th) and Scotland (October 12th).
The undisputed master of the five-yard pass has been left out due to worries over a persistant Achilles tendon problem. Real Madrid defender Raul Albiol and Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas are also set to miss out on proceedings with ankle and hamstring injuries respectively.
The Spain squad in full:
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Victor Valdes (Barcelona), Jose Reina (Liverpool)
Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Carlos Marchena (Villarreal), Joan Capdevila (Villarreal), Nacho Monreal (Osasuna)
Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Santi Cazorla (Villarreal), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Pedro (Barcelona), Jesus Navas (Sevilla)
David Villa (Barcelona), David Silva (Man City), Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao), Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
As you can see, without Xavi, Albiol and Fabregas, Del Bosque has been left worringly short of options.