UPDATE - Villareal and Turkey striker Nihat Kahveci has been ruled out up to four months after having to undergo surgery to repair the tendon injured during Turkey’s win over Croatia in the 2008 Euro Quater-Finals.

Remember the 28 year old Nihat was the goal scorer, dropping two near injury time during Turkey’s dramatic 3-2 come from behind victory over the Czech Republic.

Maybe this injury will allow Jozy Altidore to work his way into a highly talented Villareal squad that finished in 2nd place during last season’s La Liga campaign.

And how bright is Turkey’s future after once again proving themselves on the International Stage, especially after fighting so valiantly through injuries and suspensions that almost saw them through to the Finals.

Turkey head coach Fatih Terim is pretty much screwed when looking forward to Wednesday’s Semi-Final match against Germany after his squad has been decimated by injuries and suspensions following their dramatic penalty kick victory over Croatia.

Tuncay Sanli, Arda Turan and Emre Asik all picked up that dreaded yellow card that meant an automatic one game suspension while striker Nihat Kahveci (thigh), Servet Cetin (hip and knee), Tumer Metin (groin) and Emre Belozoglu (hamstring) face a race to be fit in time. Emre Gungor has already been ruled out of the tournament due to a calf injury.

Defensive midfielder Mehmet Aurelio returns from a one-match ban, but goalkeeper Volkan Demirel still has to serve another game after being handed a two match ban following his refusal to leave the bench area after being red carded for knocking down Jan Koller in the dying moments of the Czech Republic game.

With only nine players healthy as of right now, Terim’s focus must be on getting his players not only physically fit, but mentally fit knowing full well the difficulties of facing a Germany squad that is firing on all cylinders.

image via Bursaspor