Barcelona (Spain), May 9: Barcelona defender Carles Puyol says it will be "impossible" for him to recover from knee surgery in time to help Spain defend its European Championship title next month.
Puyol is expected to be sidelined for six months after undergoing surgery on his right knee on Saturday, which will sideline him from Barcelona's Copa del Rey final on May 25 and looks set to keep out of Euro 2012, which starts on June 8.
The 34-year-old centerback says he plans to recover as quickly as possible while "I'm not sure if this will be my last Euro but what I'm sure of is that I want to retire on the field, not in the operating room."
Puyol has made 99 appearances for the World Cup champions and has been a key member of its recent successes.
