Montero Misses Out On South Korea Friendly
MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) - Uruguay coach Victor Pua has opted not to call up Paolo Montero for next month's friendly against South Korea, allowing the Juventus defender more time to recover from injury.
Pua named 12 foreign-based players for the game in Montevideo on February 14, the first in a series of a warm-up matches for the World Cup finals.
The Uruguay coach will add local-based players to the squad at a later date.
Montero has been sidelined for over a month with a knee injury and had minor surgery just before Christmas.
The central defender made his return to action against AC Milan in the Italian Cup last week but is still short of match practice.
There are six players from Italy named in Pua's 12 including Inter Milan duo Alvaro Recoba and Gonzalo Sorondo and Venezia pair Pablo Garcia and Federico Magallanes.
One surprising omission is Lecce striker Ernesto Javier Chevanton who misses out despite a successful Serie A season which has seen him score six goals so far.
But striker Dario Silva, who plays with Spanish club Malaga, has been called up despite a recent row with Pua in the Uruguayan media.
Goalkeeper: Fabian Carini (Juventus)
Defenders: Gonzalo Sorondo (Inter Milan), Washington Tais (Betis Seville).
Midfielders: Gonzalo De Los Santos (Valencia), Pablo Garcia (Venezia), Gianni Guigou (AS Roma), Nicolas Olivera (Seville), Alvaro Recoba (Inter Milan), Marcelo Romero (Malaga).
Forwards: Dario Silva (Malaga), Federico Magallanes (Venezia), Mario Regueiro (Racing Santander).
