Road to Recovery

Uruguay was going to have a tough time to begin with on Tuesday in its World Cup semifinal match against the Netherlands (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 1:30 p.m. ET).
 
But now it looks as though injury and suspension problems are going to make the task even harder for La Celeste.
 
Captain Diego Lugano injured his right knee in Uruguay's quarter-final win over Ghana last Friday, and even though the defender has jogged in practice this week, he is still questionable for the game against the Dutch.
 
There's still no word on the condition of Diego Godin, who sat out the game against Ghana with a thigh problem.
 
And complicating matters even more for coach Oscar Tabarez is the fact that fullback Jorge  Fucile is suspended for the match against the Netherlands after he earned his second yellow card of the tournament in Uruguay's quarter-final win against Ghana.
 
The potential loss of three starting defenders is a major headache for Uruguay, which has  conceded just two goals in five games in South Africa.
 
If Lugano and Godin can't play, Tabarez will be forced to completely re-adjust his back line and give starts to the likes of Martin Caceres and Maximiliano Pereira, or possibly switch from a 4-4-2 formation to a three-man defence with five midfielders.
 
Either way, Uruguay has major problems at the back - problems that the Dutch, led by the dangerous Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben (two of the most dangerous attacking midfielders at this tournament) will try to expose.
 
Uruguay will also be missing forward Luis Suarez, who received a red card (and an automatic one-game suspension) for his deliberate hand ball against Ghana.
 
Like the loss of Lugano, the absence of Suarez is a major problem for Uruguay. The Ajax striker has three goals in five games and has formed a lethal partnership up front with Diego Forlan.
 
With Suarez ruled out, look for Sebastian Abreu to start in his place.
 
Abreu is a talented player, and he bagged the decisive goal in Uruguay's penalty shootout win over Ghana. But he's not in the same class as Suarez, who is considered one of the brightest and young emerging stars in South American soccer.