Turkey guard Serkan Erdogan is out of EuroBasket 2007 with a knee injury.

The Turkish Basketball Federation has confirmed his absence, a harsh blow for coach Bogdan Tanjevic with the sharpshooter Erdogan one of his most important players.

A statement on the federation's official website said: "His (Erdogan's) knee pains from an earlier knee injury came back after the Efes Pilsen World Cup 6.

"The National Teams' health committee decided that his injury needs to be cured and the player should stay off the courts for one month.

"Having in mind that he will play for his new team Efes Pilsen, and evaluating his injury, we announce that he will not be with the team in Spain, unfortunately."

Erdogan, 29, was a key player with Tau Ceramica the past two seasons, helping them reach consecutive Euroleague Final Fours.

He was almost ruled out of the 2006 FIBA World Championship with a knee problem but played and was instrumental as Turkey stunned all observers by reaching the quarter-finals.

In Japan, he averaged 15.4 points per game and shot better than 42% from three-point range.

Turkey will play Germany, Lithuania and the Czech Republic in Group C games in Palma de Mallorca.