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Blackburn manager Steve Kean reveals defender Chris Samba will not face Arsenal despite being 'fit and available'
The Rovers boss admitted there is continued uncertainty surrounding the 27-year-old after he handed in transfer request last month and claimed Spurs-bound Ryan Nelsen is unfit
2 Feb 2012 18:30:00
By Nathan Lowe
goal.com
Blackburn manager Steve Kean has revealed that wantaway defender Chris Samba will not face Arsenal on Saturday, despite describing him as "fit and available".
The influential 27-year-old tried to force a move away from Ewood Park during the January window but the club turned down a transfer request as they attempt to stave off relegation.
However, Rovers boss Kean has insisted that, despite having no fitness problems, Samba will not feature in the squad which travels to the Emirates on Saturday.
"I'm prepared to say he's fit and he's available but he's not in the squad for the Arsenal game," Kean told reporters.
"I'd rather speak about people who are available to play against Arsenal. Chris has trained well today but he's not going to be in this squad."
Kean also claimed that defender Ryan Nelsen, who made a last-minute switch to Tottenham this week, has long-term injury problems.
"He was having a lot of problems with his knee. Right at the last minute he got the call (from Tottenham) and he's decided to go with it," the Blackburn boss said.
However, Spurs assistant coach Kevin Bond quickly moved to deny those claims insisting the New Zealand-born defender could feature against Liverpool on Monday.
"He is fit and eligible to play on Monday," Bond told reporters.
"I've just had a cup of tea with him in the canteen. He is looking forward to the challenge."
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The influential 27-year-old tried to force a move away from Ewood Park during the January window but the club turned down a transfer request as they attempt to stave off relegation.
However, Rovers boss Kean has insisted that, despite having no fitness problems, Samba will not feature in the squad which travels to the Emirates on Saturday.
"I'm prepared to say he's fit and he's available but he's not in the squad for the Arsenal game," Kean told reporters.
"I'd rather speak about people who are available to play against Arsenal. Chris has trained well today but he's not going to be in this squad."
Kean also claimed that defender Ryan Nelsen, who made a last-minute switch to Tottenham this week, has long-term injury problems.
"He was having a lot of problems with his knee. Right at the last minute he got the call (from Tottenham) and he's decided to go with it," the Blackburn boss said.
"We understand the pain he was in and I hope their medics can look at it and get him back on the pitch because he's found it difficult. He's only played one game in eight months.
"He was also wanting to move into the coaching or the management side and we felt as though it was an opportunity for Ryan to do that in the next chapter of his career."However, Spurs assistant coach Kevin Bond quickly moved to deny those claims insisting the New Zealand-born defender could feature against Liverpool on Monday.
"He is fit and eligible to play on Monday," Bond told reporters.
"I've just had a cup of tea with him in the canteen. He is looking forward to the challenge."
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Live!
England 1-0 Belgium, Netherlands 4-0 Northern Ireland - follow all the international action LIVE! ahead of Euro 2012
With countries across the continent gearing up for their final warm-up games ahead of Euro 2012, join us for all the action from Saturday's friendlies. Get in touch with us via Twitter with your reaction.
Hosted by Joe Doyle
Hosted by Joe Doyle
20:06 BST
So, that game gave a few players a chance to impress for England. Who did/didn't? Will Welbeck start against France? Or Carroll? Or Defoe?!
19:59 BST
Unfortunately for Northern Ireland, they are trailing the Netherlands 4-0 at half-time. Looks like that one's all sewn up then.
19:54 BST
We're still getting plenty of Hazard chat on Twitter. A few are now saying that he's not worth the hype, others saying he was brilliant(!?) and others (which I agree with), saying he created much of his own hype. What do you think? Get involved!
19:46 BST
Joe Hart has also been giving his thoughts after the Belgium game: "It was a really tough game, a good run out. I thought we played well, [but] we were a little bit bitty at times.
"But, we came through. Obviously there were a lot of changes so it's good to get the result.
"Belgium are a very, very strong side who are going to be really good in the future. Vincent [Kompany] told me about them and said that they were coming good and I totally agree with him."
"But, we came through. Obviously there were a lot of changes so it's good to get the result.
"Belgium are a very, very strong side who are going to be really good in the future. Vincent [Kompany] told me about them and said that they were coming good and I totally agree with him."
19:38 BST
Here's Roy Hodgson's reaction to the result and some injury chat: "I'm very pleased, it's been a hard week and we've used a lot of players. There was a lot of disruption in the second-half with substitutions – some forced upon us, some we wanted to do. But it's still a very good end to the week playing against a good Belgian team here. Arguably even stronger than the Norwegian team we played last week and I've got to be more than happy that we've come out with another victory."
"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."
Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."
Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
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