Vilnius "Žalgiris" attacker Tadas Labukas' injury suffered in Wednesday's "A lyga" match against Marijampolė "Sūduva", which ended goalless, is not as serious as it initially seemed.
T.Labukas strained his calf muscles in the first half of the match and was soon substituted. It was thought that the forward would be out of the lineup for a longer period.
However, today (Friday), "Žalgiris" head coach Igoris Pankratjevas confirmed to EuroFootball.com that T.Labukas' injury is not as serious and he will be able to play in Sunday's match in Panevėžys against "Ekranas". According to the coach, "all other team players are healthy."
Tadas Labukas is one of the main "Žalgiris" forwards - he has scored 8 goals and made 3 assists in this "A lyga" season, in addition, he made his debut for the Lithuanian national team at the beginning of September. The former Klaipėda "Atlantas" and Moscow "Dynamo" player is the Lithuanian championship leader in terms of offside indicators - with 46 offsides, T.Labukas surpasses his closest pursuers by a third.
Having not lost in the last eight matches, "Žalgiris" club, with 39 points after 28 matches, shares the 4th and 5th places in the national championship with Klaipėda "Atlantas". However, the team from Klaipėda has played two matches less.
Asked about the team's goals for the rest of the season, I. Pankratjevas stated that at the moment they are not setting specific targets: "The team's goals for the remaining matches are to fight for victory in each of them and to secure the highest possible position. We are not thinking about a specific place at the moment."