GROUP FOUR:GUUS HIDDINK has risked igniting a dispute with Tottenham Hotspur after the Russia coach refused to bow to their demands to rest Roman Pavlyuchenko for tonight's World Cup qualifier against Wales.

Tottenham contacted the Russian football federation last week to express their fears about an ankle injury Pavlyuchenko has suffered, but Hiddink last night insisted the striker would start in Moscow and accused the Premier League club of being "over-concerned".

The Dutchman claimed that Pavlyuchenko, who has yet to appear for Spurs after joining for €17.20 million on transfer deadline day, has passed the national team's rigorous medical tests and made a full recovery from the injury, picked up while he was playing for Spartak Moscow last month. That injury is believed to have come to Tottenham's attention when the 26-year-old signed, but Hiddink suggested the London club are out of touch with the player's current condition.

"There was a letter from Tottenham a few days ago about their worries about the injured ankle of Pavlyuchenko, which was already fully recovered," said Hiddink, who made it clear he would never select a player against the advice of his medical staff.

A capacity crowd is expected at Lokomotiv Moscow's stadium, with optimism still high after the team's exciting performances at Euro 2008, when Hiddink's side reached the semi-finals before losing to Spain.

The profile of the Wales team is very different and manager John Toshack could be forgiven for fearing the worst, however, with six senior players injured, and Pavlyuchenko and Andrei Arshavin, another Tottenham target, set to link up in attack for Russia.

"We know we have a difficult mission," said Toshack, whose preparations suffered a new blow when Sam Ricketts was unable to train because of a virus. "When Russia go forward, they're very difficult to stop. There will be phases in the game when we have to grit our teeth but, at the same time, we have our own aspirations."

Guardian Service