Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel has been forced to withdraw from Slovakia's squad for Wednesday's friendly against Bosnia-Herzegovina due to injury.
The centre-back has been struggling with knee and ankle problems since his club's defeat at Stoke in the Premier League on Saturday evening, when he had to take pain-killers to complete the match.
Skrtel has therefore decided not to take any risks by playing in a friendly and has informed Slovakia boss Vladimir Weiss that he will instead stay in England.
The 25-year-old will now aim to regain full fitness for Liverpool's match against struggling West Ham at Anfield at the weekend.
"I've had problems with my knee and ankle (since the Stoke game)," he told SITA. "Before half-time, one of the opposing players kicked me in the knee from behind and I had to finish the game under pain-killers.
"Besides that, I also twisted my ankle, which has been haunting me since a friendly game against Costa Rice in June.
"Right after the game (against Stoke), I called the (Slovakia) coach and explained my situation to him. I'm glad he understood and gave me free time.
"It would make no sense to travel to Slovakia and be there for two days when it is uncertain whether I would play or not.
"If it was a qualifier I would surely travel, but this way we have agreed it's better for me to stay in Liverpool and try to recover."
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