Injury forces out Griffin

A back injury has forced Danny Griffin to pull out of Northern Ireland's Euro 2004 qualifier against Spain in Albacete on Saturday.

The Dundee United defender flew down to Heathrow to link up with the rest of the squad yesterday afternoon, only to return home after presenting a medical certificate regarding his injured back.

His absence is a further blow for his manager, Sammy McIlroy, who is already without two defenders – Wimbledon's Mark Williams and Wigan's Peter Kennedy. Wrexham's Shaun Holmes and the West Ham defender Grant McCann, who is on loan to Cheltenham, have been drafted in.

Griffin could return in time for the match against Ukraine at Windsor Park on Wednesday.

The Spain captain and Real Madrid striker Raul should be able to play despite sustaining a minor knee injury after scoring in Tuesday's 1-1 draw against Real Betis.

The Real Betis defender Juanito has been called into the Spain squad. The 26-year-old, who played in the draw with Real Madrid, will provide cover for Valencia's Carlos Marchena, who is suffering from a stomach problem.

The 1982 World Cup hero Gerry Armstrong is giving McIlroy some tips on the best way to get past Spain. Armstrong, now a television analyst on Spanish football, has compiled a detailed dossier on the strengths and weaknesses of the national squad.

Andrei Shevchenko will not play for Ukraine in either Saturday's Euro 2004 qualifier against Greece or the game against Northern Ireland four days later at the request of his club, Milan.

The Switzerland coach, Koebi Kuhn, has added the Servette defender Massimo Lombardo to his squad for the qualifiers in Albania and the Republic of Ireland after Liverpool's Stéphane Henchoz was forced to withdraw from the team with a calf injury.