Fatigued Hearts star Zaliukas to miss Lithuania's Euro 2012 qualifier

HEARTS captain Marius Zaliukas will not play for Lithuania in their forthcoming Euro 2012 qualifier with Liechtenstein after informing national coach Raimondas Zutautas that he is suffering from fatigue.

Zutautas named his squad for the Liechtenstein match next Friday, June 3, and the friendly with Norway four days later but did not include Zaliukas. The Lithuanian coach said the defender stated he needed to rest after a demanding season in Scotland.

Victory in Liechtenstein would propel Lithuania above Scotland in qualifying Group I to sit just two points off the play-off spot, currently occupied by the Czech Republic. Zaliukas, frozen out of the Hearts team towards the end of the season, is not performing at his best, according to Zutautas.

"Marius barely played for the last couple of months. He was suspended, mysteriously dropped, injured," explained Zutautas. "His last game was a couple weeks ago so his form is not the best. We had a talk and he said he was tired and wanted a rest.

"But we will cope because the defence is well covered. We have Gediminas Paulauskas and Arunas Klimavicius back, also Marius Stankevicius, Andrius Skerla, Tadas Kijanskas, Ramunas Radavicius."