© EuroFootball.com
Sad news for fans of the Lithuanian national team and Edinburgh's "Hearts" - defender Nerijus Barasa will no longer play matches this season. Last month, the player, who suffered an injury, will need surgery and will not be able to appear on the field for about three months.
The 28-year-old Lithuanian injured his ankle ligaments in January in a match against Glasgow's "Celtic" and has not played since then. Now, "Hearts" head coach Valdas Ivanauskas confirmed that the footballer's season is most likely over - he will miss not only the rest of the Scottish Championship, but also will be unable to help the Lithuanian national team in the 2008 European Championship qualifying matches against France and Ukraine.
"It's very unfortunate for the player. Since he arrived at the club, he has had a lot of issues with injuries - last season he was sidelined for a long time due to an injury in his debut match. Now he returned to the team, but it happened again. He's just unlucky," - said V. Ivanauskas.
"The injury hasn't healed well, so we feel that the best decision is surgery. He will undergo surgery in England next week, and rehabilitation will last from 12 to 16 weeks. Obviously, this is a big setback for the player," - lamented the coach.
N. Barasa moved to Edinburgh in January 2006, but since then he has only appeared in 16 matches for the Scottish capital team. Due to injuries, playing only 4 matches in his first season at "Hearts" club, the defender from Lithuania also suffered an Achilles tendon injury during the team's preparation camp for the 2006/07 season and returned to the squad only in October.
