Honduras lack full arsenal for World Cup says coach

Tegucigalpa: Honduras would enter the Worlds Cup finals in South Africa down on firepower after a costly injury and lack of playing time by their strikers, coach Reinaldo Rueda said after he named their final 23-man squad on Monday.

Striker Carlo Costly had already been ruled out after he broke his foot playing for his Romanian club Vaslui last week, while David Suazo and Carlos Pavon, key strikers in qualifying, had not been playing regularly recently. Suazo was coming back from injury and played as a substitute for Genoa at the weekend against AC Milan in Serie A, while Pavon’s Real Espana side have been knocked out in the Honduran championship. “We’ve all been shocked by Costly’s situation,” Rueda told a news conference. “He was the only (Honduran) international forward playing and scoring goals. “We don’t have the arsenal we believe we have,” said Rueda, who opted for Georgie Welcome over league top scorer Jerry Bengtson in place of Costly. Midfielder Danilo Turcios, who injured his left knee during the second leg of the Honduran Clausura final on Saturday, was included after his injury was not as serious as first thought. “In the case of Danilo Turcios we have a positive diagnosis from the medical team. He will be given therapy for two weeks and will be fit for the World Cup,” Rueda said. Honduras have been drawn in Group H with Chile, Spain and Switzerland for the tournament that runs from June 11-July 11. Bureau Report