Absentee list for ice hockey Worlds lengthens

The list of Czech players who will not be available for ice hockey’s World Championship in Germany next month is getting longer. Martin Erat of Nashville, Washington’s Tomáš Fleischmann and Martin Hanzal of Phoenix all have injury problems, while coach Vladimír Ružička also expects Phoenix’s Radim Vrbata will miss the tournament. Several other players, including Patrik Eliáš – who captained the team at the Winter Olympics – were already ruled out. On Saturday, the Czech Republic were beaten 4:1 by Finland at the Swedish Games in Stockholm, meaning they can not now win this year’s four-nation Euro Hockey Tour.