Cech: Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech said he wakes up at night with intense headaches after his skull injury from a reckless challenge at Reading 13 days ago. "Sometimes it is difficult because you wake up and you have a horrible headache so you have to take your medication," he said. I just try to live with that and every day it is going to get better." Cech needed surgery on his fractured skull after the collision, which manager Jose Mourinho said could have killed him, with two metal plates inserted into his head.
Kirkland: Goalkeeper Chris Kirkland, who has been on loan at Wigan Athletic since July, completed a permanent transfer from Liverpool yesterday. Kirkland, 25, who started his career at Coventry City, has also played for West Bromwich Albion on loan.
Messi: Barcelona forward Lionel Messi is optimistic that he will be able to play against Chelsea in the Champions League at home on Tuesday despite an ankle injury. Messi picked up the injury when he was fouled by Brazilian midfielder Emerson in last weekend's 2-0 defeat against arch-rivals Real Madrid and will miss Barcelona's league game at home to Recreativo Huelva today.
Hearts unrest: Hearts cancelled their press conference yesterday amid more turmoil as captain Steven Pressley read out a prepared statement claiming the players had lost confidence in club owner Vladimir Romanov. The move follows the repeated interference in team selection by the Lithuanian chairman and comes just days after manager Valdas Ivanauskas announced he was taking two weeks rest for health reasons.
Hertha Berlin: Hertha Berlin have been awarded a win over Stuttgarter Kickers following the abandonment of their German Cup tie, the national soccer association (DFB) said. A DFB sports tribunal handed Hertha a 2-0 victory over their third division opponents after linesman Kai Voss was knocked out on Wednesday by a beer-filled plastic cup thrown from the Stuttgarter fan area in the 81st minute.
Barcelona: European champions Barcelona have said they expect to earn 150 million euros ($190 million) after reaching an agreement to extend a deal with American sportswear giant Nike for an additional five years until 2013. Barcelona's shirts have been made by Nike since 1998 and the club said that the new agreement included an option to extend the deal for a further five years until 2018.
Beckham: David Beckham will miss Real Madrid's league match against Gimnastic Tarragona today because of a strained thigh muscle. The former England captain sustained the injury during Real's 1-1 draw with third division Ecija in the King's Cup on Wednesday, his second appearance in the starting line-up in eight matches. Beckham has not trained with the rest of the team since then and was left out of the squad for today's match.
Petrov: Aston Villa midfielder Stilian Petrov would be welcome back in the Bulgaria team if he changes his mind about quitting international soccer, national coach Hristo Stoichkov said. The 27-year-old Petrov, who was Bulgaria's captain, shocked the team by announcing his retirement the day after their 1-0 victory over Luxembourg that put them second in Euro 2008 Group G on Oct. 11.
Podolski: Bayern Munich striker Lukas Podolski is facing at least three weeks out with an ankle injury, the Bundesliga club said yesterday. Podolski suffered the injury in training when he went up against team-mate Mark van Bommel. He will miss Bayern's Champions League Group B match at home to Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday. Podolski will also have to sit out Bundesliga games against Eintracht Frankfurt, Schalke 04, Hanover 96 and Bayer Leverkusen.
MFA Division Three: Kirkop vs Gzira 2-3; Ghaxaq vs Gharghur 0-3.
In England: The Championship - Burnley vs Preston 3-2.