Tricolorii injuries add up

Looking ahead to next months friendly against Croatia, Victor Piţurcă’s choices have been reduced by two as Adrian Mutu and Ciprian Marica were injured over the weekend.

Adrian Mutu dislocated his elbow as his club Fiorentina lost 2-1 loss at home to Lecce. He is expected to return in time for Viola’s UEFA Cup match against Ajax but the February 11 international match is unlikely.

Ciprian Marica suffered what appears to be a badly torn muscle while training with his club VfB Stuttgart in Portugal. The severity of the injury caused him to immediately return to Germany for treatment. The club is not confident he will be available for the UEFA Cup match against Zenit Saint Petersburg in February, so like Adrian Mutu, he should be expected against Croatia.