SWINDON Town midfielder Yaser Kasim has suffered a recurrence of his groin injury whilst on international duty with Iraq.

Iraq are set to play Saudi Arabia tomorrow lunchtime in the second of their World Cup qualifiers but Kasim is now a serious doubt.

According to the Iraqi football association’s Twitter page, Kasim has been undergoing tests in hospital under the supervision of the national team doctor.

The 25-year-old missed Town’s trip to Gillingham on August 16 after complaining off a tight groin in the wake of the previous defeat at Chesterfield.

However, Kasim, who was subject to much transfer speculation during the summer, was back in the starting line-up for the visit of Port Vale four days later.

Kasim, who opted to start the season with Town rather than link up with the national side for a series of friendlies with Qatar, missed Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Peterborough United after returning to the Iraq squad ahead of their two World Cup qualifiers.

The Town midfielder has had a chequered past with the national team, having seen any hopes of representing his country at the Olympics scuppered when he failed to return to a pre-tournament training camp in the summer, after being given time off to discuss his club future back in the UK.

Kasim was a second-half substitute in the 2-0 defeat to Australia last Thursday but appears to have sustained the injury either during the half an hour that he played or in training since the game.

The extent of the injury is not known at this stage.