In brief...

Silvestre: Manchester United's defender Mikael Silvestre could play again this season, despite initial fears he would miss the rest of the campaign after damaging cruciate knee ligaments at Everton on Sept. 15. United manager Alex Ferguson said he hopes the 30-year-old will be fit for the title run-in. "I'm sure Mikael will be back in March," he said. "We had him operated on in France last week and it all went well."

Oubina: Borja Oubina, 25, will be out for at least six months with a knee injury. The Birmingham midfielder, who is on loan from Celta Vigo, ruptured his left anterior cruciate ligament in his debut against Liverpool on Saturday. "This is terrible because I arrived in the Premier League with much anticipation," he said. Oubina suffered a similar injury to his right knee in 1997.

Nasri: Marseille midfielder Samir Nasri will miss his side's Champions League Group A match against Liverpool at Anfield on Oct. 3 because of a virus. The France playmaker was taken to hospital where he will stay for a few days and will only be able to resume training in 10 days.

Maicon: Inter's Brazilian defender Maicon received a three-match ban after being sent off for kicking Livorno forward Erjon Bogdani during a 2-2 draw on Sunday. The Serie A champions said that they have lodged an appeal against the decision.

Arca: Argentine midfielder Julio Arca faces a two-month injury layoff after damaging knee ligaments in Middlesbrough's 2-2 draw with Sunderland on Saturday. Arca scored Middlesbrough's equaliser after 15 minutes against his old club but went off injured 12 minutes later.

Carew: Striker John Carew may miss Norway's Euro 2008 qualifier against Bosnia next month after he was injured in an English Premier League match on Sunday. Carew scored his first goal of the season in Aston Villa's 2-0 defeat of Everton but sprained a ligament in his right knee and was substituted in the 53rd minute.

In Italy: Serie C1 (B) - Perugia vs Arezzo 1-1.