Serbia & Montenegro centre Nenad Krstic has been ruled out of the European Championships with a foot injury.

The Partizan Belgrade big man first felt pain in his foot when the team was gathered in the German spa town of Rotenburg.

While his team-mates took on Australia on Friday night - a game Serbia & Montenegro won 89-68 - Krstic was having his foot examined and doctors discovered a break in his first metatarsal.

"We've already been very tight with big players, now we are in much worse situation after this news,” said coach Dusko Vujosevic.

"We must think of some new solutions, as Krstic won't be able to play for a month."

The world champions were already smarting from the decision of the country’s trio of NBA first-round draft picks who elected not to join Vujosevic’s men this summer.

The Phoenix Suns' Zarko Cabarkapa, Aleksandar Pavlovic of the Utah Jazz and Detroit Piston Darko Milicic each chose to focus this summer on getting ready for their rookie seasons in the NBA.