Madrid - Barcelona's teenage sensation Bojan Krkic is to miss the European Championship final for unspecified "personal reasons," Spanish media reported Thursday. El Mundo, Marca and Sport all reported that coach Luis Aragones called Krkic on Wednesday, and was told by the 17-year-old player he preferred not to go to Austria and Switzerland.
Barcelona are reportedly pleased with this decision because they feel that Krkic needs to rest after a hectic debut season.
He has taken part in 30 of Barca's Liga matches, starting in 14 of them and scoring 10 goals.
In addition, the youngster has played frequently for the Spanish Under-21 side, as well as for Barca in the Champions League and the King's Cup.
The teenager - whose father is Serbian and mother Catalan - has been one of the few bright spots in Barca's dismal season.
Sport said Barca had drawn up a specific summer medical programme for Krkic, to increase his muscular strength and resistance.
He was scheduled to become the youngest player to wear the red of Spain in February, in a friendly against France. Two days before the match, however, he suffered a serious bout of nervous gastro-entiritis and missed his international debut.
The absence of Krkic means that Aragones needs to choose a fourth striker, in addition to Liverpool's Fernando Torres, Valencia's David Villa and league top scorer Daniel Guiza of Mallorca.
The logical choice would be Luis Garcia of Espanyol, picked eight times by Aragones already.
However, the veteran manager is said to be considering two uncapped forwards: Sergio Garcia of troubled Zaragoza and Santi Cazorla of second-placed Villarreal.
Aragones - who will announce his squad on Friday - is unlikely to bring back Real Madrid veteran Raul Gonzalez, despite his good form and a Madrid media campaign in his favour.
