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Del Bosque picks injured trio |
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Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque has named injured trio Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas and Andres Iniesta in his initial 30-man World Cup squad, while uncapped Barcelona forward Pedro is also included.
Torres, Fabregas and Iniesta all played an important role in Spain's Euro 2008 triumph and impeccable qualifying campaign for this summer's finals, and Del Bosque appears willing to gamble on their fitness.
Iniesta and Barcelona team-mate Xavi have both been injured of late, while Fabregas missed the run-in to Arsenal's season and Torres has also been on the sidelines for Liverpool.
But Xavi has recently returned to the first-team fold with the Catalans and Fabregas confirmed that he is "on scedule" with his rehabilitation from a cracked fibula. Torres and Iniesta have also expressed their belief that they will be fit and raring to go for the finals.
Sevilla winger Jesus Navas is included after another impressive season, and he has reportedly been receiving treatment to try to overcome the well-documented problems with travel anxiety that had looked likely to hamper his chances of playing at the World Cup.
Del Bosque has selected five goalkeepers in the list, with uncapped duo Victor Valdes of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid youngster David De Gea likely to be battling out with Villarreal's Diego Lopez to see who will be joining Iker Casillas and Jose Reina in the final squad.
Aside from the players who have featured regularly for the European champions in recent times, Del Bosque has also named Barca winger Pedro, Osasuna defender Cesar Azpilicueta and Athletic Bilbao midfielder Javi Martinez in the list, though there is no place for talented youngsters Bojan Krkic and Sergio Canales, or Spain's record scorer Raul.
Spain provisional squad:
Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), David De Gea (Atletico Madrid), Diego Lopez (Villarreal), Jose Reina (Liverpool) Victor Valdes (Barcelona).
Defenders: Raul Albiol (Real Madrid), Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid) Cesar Azpilicueta (Osasuna), Joan Capdevila (Villarreal), Carlos Marchena (Valencia), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid).
Midfielders: Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Sergi Busquets (Barcelona), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Javi Martinez (Athletic Bilbao) Marcos Senna (Villarreal), David Silva (Valencia), Xavi (Barcelona).
Forwards: Santi Cazorla (Villarreal), Jesus Navas (Sevilla), Juan Manuel Mata (Valencia) Pedro Rodriguez (Barcelona), Dani Guiza (Fenerbache) Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao), Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla), Fernando Torres (Liverpool FC) and David Villa (Valencia).
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