With another round of potentially ligament damaging friendlies this week, a number of which were recently expertly previewed on this very site, no doubt infuriating club managers across the globe – it is with little surprise that we have noted a number of high profile absentees from first XIs around Europe. Robert Huth is one who has cried off his German international duty with an injury, as has Frenchman Thierry Henry – but there are no withdrawals quite so high profile as Portuguese wingers Christiano Ronaldo and Nani, both of whom have been given permission to sit out by the Selecção das Quinas team doctor.

So as well as opening up a whole barrel-load of questions about just how important these friendlies really are in getting ones ‘predictor hat’ on for Euro 2008, one wonders if any big league managers are keeping a steady hand on their better players as the season draws to a close. Nick may rate them meaningless friendlies, but I think he’s wrong - and one feels sure that the majority of the players who come in for these stars will be giving their utmost as replacements (after all, squad places will still be up for grab in many managers’ notebooks). As such, the Portugal vs. Greece match especially could be a very interesting look at how the top sides might perform if high-profile injuries occur during the tournament.

As for who will replace the dynamic pair, my money is on a bit of system shape shifting from Big Phil Scolari – but we must wait until Wednesday, when the stats on CPI will bear out the true story of the international tale.