Poland captain Zurawski out of group stage

By Zoran Milosavljevic

BAD TATZMANNSDORF, Austria (Reuters) - Poland captain Maciej Zurawski could miss the rest of Euro 2008 after sustaining a thigh injury in Sunday's 2-0 defeat by Germany in their opening Group B match, team doctors said on Monday.

"Zurawski has strained quads and some bleeding so he may be unavailable for the rest of the tournament," Jerzy Grzywocz told a news conference in Bad Waltersdorf.

"For the moment, he will take no part in the next two games."

The 31-year-old striker is the third Polish player to be sidelined by injury in their Euro 2008 campaign after midfielders Jakub Blaszczykowski and reserve keeper Tomasz Kuszczak pulled out during the build-up.

Defensive midfielder Mariusz Lewandowski also picked up an ankle knock against the Germans but Grzywocz said he was likely to be fit for Thursday's crunch tie with Austria in Vienna.

"It's not so serious and Lewandowski should be ready for the Austria game," he said.

Zurawski is likely to be replaced by Roger Guerreiro but coach Leo Beenhakker declined to name any other changes to the side that wilted against the Germans.

Beenhakker instead praised his team for what he saw as a "good performance" and was confident they would progress to the quarter-finals.