MOSCOW, September 16 (RIA Novosti) – Key Zenit St. Petersburg trio Domenico Criscito, Miguel Danny and Sergei Semak are to miss the Champions League opener at Malaga on Tuesday due to injury, a source at the Russian champions told R-Sport.
Italian left-back Criscito, recently cleared of match-fixing allegations back home, missed Friday's surprise 2-0 league defeat to Terek Grozny through injury and will not recover in time, the source said.
Zenit coach Luciano Spalletti declared Portugal international Danny, who ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament in February, to be ready for the Terek game, though he was found to be short of fitness and will need the rest of the month to recover, the source said.
Semak played 15 minutes of Friday's game after returning from a thigh injury, but hurt himself in training on Sunday and is unlikely to be fit for Tuesday's match in Spain, the source added.
Zenit's new additions Hulk and Axel Witsel, recently acquired for €40 million apiece from Portuguese clubs, should make their European debuts for the team.
Zenit also face AC Milan and Anderlecht in Group C.
