Topics: Spain, France, England, Croatia, Italy,
After a season of struggles in Europe, some fatigued players were bound to be absent for the showpiece event in the summer. The list however is longer than expected. This list features ten of those absentees.

Frank Lampard (England): A European champion is a valuable asset on any team. Lampard has been at the heart of the England midfield for many a year but a thigh injury has denied him the chance to shine at the international stage this time around. Lampard is experienced but did not have the best of seasons in terms of form. His absence might give other players a chance to shine and allow Steven Gerrard to play a freer role as well.

Carles Puyol (Spain): He got Spain to the World Cup Final in 2010. He has been the best Spanish defender for years. With Gerard Pique’s drop in form, the Spanish central defence will look very vulnerable and might be cut open when dealing with attackers such as Antonio di Natale. Puyol of-course has been ruled out due to a knee injury which ruled him out for six weeks. 

David Villa (Spain): Villa has spent many forlorn months on the sidelines since breaking his tibia in December. He did fight to be fit but his efforts were in vain. Barca has suffered without him. Villa was largely responsible for getting Spain through to the World Cup Final. His five goals helped hide the poor form of his goal shy striking partner Fernando Torres. Villa will be sorely missed.

Giuseppe Rossi (Italy): His omission due to injury is a real shame due to his versatility. Rossi is a jack of all trades in attack. His qualities will be missed by Cessare Prandelli’s side. Rossi has an extremely serious injury to deal with; he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament for a second time.

Bacary Sagna (France): While playing for Arsenal, he broke his leg early on in the season. Upon his return, he suffered a horrendous injury on the penultimate day of the season. He broke his leg once more and was almost immediately ruled out of the tournament.  Sagna is one of the best full-backs in the world. The French will truly miss one of their most consistent players.

Ivica Olic (Croatia): The ‘energizer bunny’ as he was known for Bayern has suffered many heart-breaks in the past few seasons. He missed almost the entire 2010-11 season due to injury and missed a large portion of this one due to the same reason. Olic is a fantastic striker who can also play on the wing. He is an inspirational player and his injury enforced suspension could really turn out to hurt Croatia. He has an injured thigh muscle.

Gary Cahill (England): Another English man who is a European champion at club level was ruled out due to injury. Cahill has had a good season. The English defence was torn apart by the Germans in the 2010 World Cup. England, placed in a tough group, could have done with Cahill in the heart of defence. He has been ruled out due to a double jaw fracture he suffered against Belgium.

Aaron Lennon (England): Roy Hodgson’s decision to leave Lennon out was strange. The Spurs winger had a good season. He is arguably more consistent than Theo Walcott. England, in case of a dip in form of Walcott, could have done with Lennon. Lennon could turn out to be a bigger miss than English fans currently feel.

Roberto Soldado (Spain): He is coming off the back of another excellent season with Valencia. He is really a finisher. However, Vicente Del Bosque feels he is happy with Torres and chose to leave out Soldado. With Villa injured, the decision seems strange.

Alvaro Negredo and Torres did not score too many goals for their clubs this season. The inclusion of Fernando Llorente to a certain degree justifies this decision but at the end of the day, Soldado was the top-scoring Spaniard in La Liga this season. If Llorente scores in the Euros, this decision might be forgotten. Otherwise, Del Bosque might have to answer a question or two from the Spanish Football Federation.

Eric Abidal (France): Abidal was ruled out for Barcelona at the beginning of March due to liver problems. He required a transplant. As expected, the experienced Frenchman failed to recover in time for the tournament and has been ruled out. With Sagna ruled out of the competition, Abidal’s absence gives Laurent Blanc more headaches than he would otherwise have had.