However, Guus Hiddink says the final decision on Arshavin’s fitness has yet to be made.

“He’s now in treatment and resting because of his injury. We have a few days before Lichtenstein. We have few more days ahead of Wales. We’ll see at the end of the week how he is,” he said.

Another concern for the Dutchman is Yury Zhirkov. The midfielder hasn't yet played a single league game for his new club Chelsea.

Even though Zhirkov took part in training, he's not guaranteed a place in the starting eleven.

“He didn’t play because of injury and I have my report from him and Chelsea that he was practicing the whole week fully with a group. And also with the second team when the group was on travel. We’ll see how fit he is. We have some special training for him and we’ll se how fit he is also at the end of the week,” Guus Hiddink explained.

There is just one new face in Russia's squad. As Premier league champions and current leaders Rubin increased their number in the national team, Sergey Semak is joined by Aleksander Bukharov.

The forward is Kazan's top scorer this season, with 11 goals in 15 games. Bukharov, however, needs to do a lot to earn his place in the team

“We have several strikers for this one position, with him added. And I like to see him also this week in training, how he adopts himself on the level of national team,” the coach said.

Russia currently seat second in Group Four, four points adrift of Germany with a game in hand. Wins over Lichtenstein and Wales will be vital if they are to maintain their chances of taking the top spot.