Stoke keeper Thomas Sorensen has been selected in Denmark's provisional 26-man squad for the World Cup.
Keeper in race to be fit after dislocated elbow
Thomas Sorensen has been selected in a provisional 26-man squad for the World Cup as the Denmark goalkeeper continues his recovery from a dislocated elbow.
The Stoke City shot-stopper suffered the injury at Chelsea late last month and is in a race against time to prove his fitness before the finals.
He recently expressed confidence that he would be back in time for the tournament in South Africa and has been named in the provisional party by coach Morten Olsen.
Sorensen has been the Danish No.1 for nine years and will be key to their hopes of progressing out of Group E which also contains Holland, Japan and Cameroon.
The 26 players named on Monday will take part in a friendly against Senegal in Aalborg on 27th May with four others on standby.
Surprise inclusion
Olsen will then whittle down the squad to 23 prior to Denmark's World Cup opener against the Dutch on 14th June.
Malaga defender Patrick Mtiliga was the surprise inclusion having not played for his country since November 2008.
"We had Patrick with us against Wales in November 2008 when he played for one half and we have followed his progress closely since," said Olsen.
"With the move from NAC Breda to Malaga he went to a better club and a better league. We believe Patrick is the perfect fit for the type of opposition we will face."
One player absent from the squad is Leon Andreasen, who revealed last week that he would be undergoing leg surgery which would see him miss the World Cup.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Jesper Christiansen (FC Copenhagen), Kim Christensen (IFK Gothenburg), Stephan Andersen (Brondby), Thomas Sorensen (Stoke City);
Defenders: Daniel Agger (Liverpool), Lars Jacobsen (Blackburn), Patrick Mtiliga (Malaga), Per Kroldrup (Fiorentina), Simon Busk Poulsen (AZ Alkmaar), Simon Kjaer (Palermo), William Kvist (FC Copenhagen).
Midfielders: Christian Poulsen (Juventus), Christian Eriksen (Ajax), Daniel Jensen (Werder Bremen), Jakob Poulsen (AGF Aarhus), Michael Silberbauer (FC Utrecht), Mikkel Beckmann (Randers), Thomas Enevoldsen (FC Groningen), Thomas Kahlenberg (Wolfsburg), Dennis Rommedahl (Ajax), Jesper Gronkjaer (FC Copenhagen), Martin Jorgensen (AGF Aarhus).
Strikers: Michael Krohn-Dehli (Brondby), Nicklas Bendtner (Arsenal), Jon Dahl Tomasson (Feyenoord), Soren Larsen (Duisburg).
Stand by: Anders Moller Christensen (Odense), Leon Jessen, Mikkel Thygesen (both FC Midtjylland), Morten Rasmussen (Celtic).
