Turkey right-back Gökhan Gönül has been removed from their provisional UEFA EURO 2008™ squad due to a bruised second-metatarsal bone in his right foot.
Four-week rest
Turkey coach Fatih Terim announced the decision together with national team doctors Bülent Bayraktar and Cengiz Dinç. "Scans have showed that Gökhan should be rested for at least four weeks without participating in any training sessions," said Terim. "We did our best to keep him in our squad but our players' health is more important in any case. Therefore, we were forced to remove him from our squad. This decision will surely disappoint him. He will return to Istanbul and continue his treatment there." The experienced coach added that he was not intending to call up a replacement for the Fenerbahçe SK defender.
Injury deteriorated
Gökhan, who has four caps for his country, admitted that his own insistence on playing for his club was a major reason for his current predicament. "In the final matches of the season, I took part in Fenerbahçe's matches of my own will," said the 23-year-old. "This increased the intensity of my injury and I deeply regret this now. It's impossible to define my own feelings. I was looking forward to the EURO. I'm not angry with anybody. For three days, FC Bayern München's doctor treated me. He told me that my recovery period wouldn't be short and added I would need four weeks to fully recover.
'Mistake' regret
"I was about to take part in one of the world's biggest tournaments. It was a great opportunity to show my talents. I made a mistake and now I apologize for this. I'm planning to go to Switzerland to support my team-mates. I believe that they're going to be successful in the tournament," he added. Gökhan played a key role in Fenerbahçe's run to the last eight of the UEFA Champions League and performed to a very high standard throughout the season, including the 24 matches he played in the Turkish Super League.
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