Tournament over for injured Swiss captain Frei

Switzerland captain Alex Frei will play no further part in the co-host's campaign, a team doctor said today.

"Frei has partially ruptured a ligament in his left knee and will be out for around six weeks," Cuno Wetzel told a news conference at the team's base in central Switzerland.

Swiss all-time leading international scorer Frei, 28, limped out of his team's opening 1-0 defeat against Czech Republic in tears last night following a first-half foul by Zdenek Grygera.

His absence is likely to be sorely felt by the co-hosts who had already lost fellow forward Blaise Nkufo to injury before the tournament got underway.

"Of course it hurts for us to lose our captain and one of our most important players, our goal-getter," Switzerland coach Koebi Kuhn told today's news conference.

"But I have already told the team that the looking back is over. It doesn't help us to look back. We have to look ahead to our next match which we will just have to win without Alex.

"He will stay here with the team and receive therapy from our doctors. That has already been agreed with his club. He wanted to stay with us. He is a leader and remains a leader even in his current situation."

Kuhn now has only two out-and-out strikers remaining in his squad, Frei's regular partner Marco Streller and the internationally inexperienced teenager Eren Derdiyok.

Wetzel said that Streller had also picked up an injury last night, re-aggravating an old groin condition, but was expected to recover in time for Switzerland's next match on Wednesday.

Midfielders Hakan Yakin, Johan Vonlanthen and Daniel Gygax can also be deployed up front if necessary.

Switzerland's remaining group matches are against Turkey on Wednesday and Portugal next Sunday.