A slow recovery from severe facial injuries has left Spartak Moscow goalkeeper Andrei Dikan little hope of playing at Euro 2012 at home in Ukraine, he has said.
Zenit St. Petersburg striker Alexander Kerzhakov’s knee hit Dikan’s face during Zenit’s 2-1 win over Spartak last month, leaving the goalkeeper with a broken cheekbone, a broken and dislocated jaw and concussion.
"I want to go very, very much. But as the time passes I understand than my dream to play there is slipping away from me,” Dikan told Ukrainian television Prosport on Sunday.
Dikan traveled to Germany for surgery on his face earlier this month and has since resumed light training in a protective mask.
According to the Ukraine goalkeeper, his current condition "can't be characterized as satisfactory."
"The swelling is not completely gone," said Dikan. "And I still have the problems with chewing."
The goalkeeper says he will not be allowed to full training until 10 weeks have passed since the surgery on April 11, while Ukraine’s first match will be against Sweden on July 11, one-and-a-half weeks short of that deadline.
Ukraine is experiencing a goalkeeping crisis ahead of the tournament, with Olexander Shovkovsky battling to recover from a shoulder injury and Shakhtar Donetsk’s Olexiy Rybka appealing against a ban for doping.
Russian footballing authorities have said Kerzhakov will not be punished over the collision, and Dikan has reportedly said he bears no malice against the Zenit striker.
Dikan joined Spartak from Terek Grozny in 2010 and has played 32 times for the Moscow club this season.
He has three caps for Ukraine and last represented his country against Uzbekistan in June.
