PRAGUE (AFP) - Czech captain and Arsenal midfield star Tomas Rosicky confirmed on his website Monday that he will not play for his country in a Euro-2008 preparatory friendly against Poland because of a muscle problem.

Rosicky "is out of the national team's preparatory match against Poland," the 27-year-old player's site stated.

The Czech squad was due to gather in Prague on Sunday before leaving for Cyprus for a match against Greece's A-team on Tuesday and against the full Polish team a day later as part of an international competition.

The muscle problem caused Rosicky to leave the field after nine minutes during the FA Cup clash against Newcastle on Saturday.