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Serbia injury problems mount

The two players have joined Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic on the sidelines and will miss the match with Northern Ireland on Friday, but could be fit for the visit to Estonia on March 29, coach Vladimir Petrovic said.

"It's never a pleasant situation when you have to reshuffle the team but we have able replacements if they don't recover," Pertrovic, whose side desperately need to kick-start their qualifying campaign, told reporters on Monday.

"We hope that some of the injured or at least the walking wounded will be fit for the trip to Estonia."

The Serbs, who are fifth in Group C with four points from as many games, entertain Northern Ireland behind closed doors as they serve a one-match ban for a riot their fans caused during last October's game in Italy.

Wolves midfielder Nenad Milijas, who played a Belgrade derby for Red Star against Partizan behind closed doors before he moved to the Premier League, said the lack of fans in Red Star's 55,000-seat stadium would be a setback for Serbia on Friday.

"Empty terraces are an eery sight, just as it's a scary feeling to play when we can hear ourselves on the pitch," said the 27-year old playmaker.

"But Red Star won that game 4-1 and I really wouldn't mind the empty terraces if we could have the same result against Northern Ireland."