Wenger tempers Taylor criticism

Arsenal manger Arsene Wenger has retracted comments calling for Birmingham defender Martin Taylor to be banned for life following his horror tackle on Eduardo.

Taylor was shown a red card in the opening moments of the 2-2 draw at St Andrews after he caught the Gunners striker, who apparently suffered a badly broken leg.

Immediately after the game, in which James McFadden equalised in injury-time, a furious Wenger said: "This guy should never play football again. What is he doing on the football pitch?"

Blues boss Alex McLeish and former manager Steve Bruce jumped to the defence of the player, who was described as "distraught", and Wenger has now softened his stance.

"It was a highly emotional afternoon and we were all shocked by the injury to Eduardo," said Wenger. "On reflection, I feel that my comments about Martin Taylor were excessive. I said what I did immediately after the game in the heat of the moment."

However, Croatia captain Niko Kovac has blasted Taylor for the "brutality" of the tackle.

The Gunners are set to provide an update on Eduardo's condition tomorrow but he will definitely miss this summer's European Championships and there are genuine fears his career could be threatened.

Kovac was scathing about Taylor, saying: "I can't believe this happened. Also, I can't believe such brutality still exists in football. I don't even want to speculate about the time of his (Eduardo's) absence. Let's wait for the doctors to give their opinion."

Croatia manager Slaven Bilic said: "This is horrible. The fact he won't play at the Euros is less important — most important is that he recovers as soon as possible and resumes his footballing career.

"He is a great guy. Of course I will visit him very soon, trying to cheer him up."