Petrov, Bojinov to miss WCup qualifier vs. Italy
Bolton winger Martin Petrov and Sporting Lisbon forward Valeri Bojinov will miss Bulgaria's opening 2014 World Cup qualifiers against Italy and Armenia next month.
Coach Lyuboslav Penev did not give a reason for their absences from the games on Sept. 7 and four days later in Sofia.
Bulgaria is also without Aston Villa midfielder Stiliyan Petrov, who is fighting acute leukemia, while Manchester United forward Dimitar Berbatov, who has been linked with a move to Fiorentina, has refused to return to the team.
The 21-man squad includes four players from current Bulgarian league leader Ludogorets.
The three sides are joined in Group B by the Czech Republic, Denmark, and Malta.
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Squad:
Goalkeepers: Nikolay Mihaylov (FC Twente), Stoyan Kolev (Tchernomorets), Vladislav Stoyanov (Sherif Tiraspol).
Defenders: Ivan Ivanov (Partizan Belgrade), Alexander Alexandrov (Cherno More), Veselin Minev (Antaliaspor), Yordan Minev (Ludogorets), Nikolay Bodurov (Litex), Petar Zanev (Volyn Lutsk), Ilia Milanov (Litex).
Midfielders: Stanislav Manolev (PSV Eindhoven), Svetoslav Dyakov (Ludogorets), Georgi Sarmov (Kasimpasa), Vladimir Gadzhev (Levski Sofia), Georgi Milanov (Litex), Boris Galchev (Dinamo Bucharest).
Forwards: Alexander Tonev (Lech), Emil Gargorov (Ludogorets), Ivelin Popov (Kuban Krasnodar), Ivan Stoyanov (Ludogorets), Iliyan Mitsanski (Kaiserslautern).