Bulgarian Todorov misses Euro 2004
SOFIA, Bulgaria -- Bulgaria will have to cope without injured striker Svetoslav Todorov for next month's European championship, coach Plamen Markov has revealed.
"I will not be able to use Todorov as he is undergoing further surgery in Germany," Markov said. "I regret what has happened but unfortunately this is part of reality."
The 25-year-old, who has won 32 caps and scored four goals, suffered a serious knee injury in training with his English premier league club Portsmouth last August.
He returned to action recently but is not fit enough to travel to the tournament.
Eighteen-year-old striker Valeri Bojinov is likely to take Todorov's place after his performances for Italian Serie A side Lecce this season.
Markov is expected to announce his squad for Portugal on May 23 and the players start a training camp in Sofia two days later.
Bulgaria, in Euro 2004 Group C along with Sweden, Denmark and Italy, play their last warm-up game fon June 2 against the Czech Republic in Prague.
