Sporting briefs

Milito: Barcelona defender Gabriel Milito will have arthroscopic surgery in Buenos Aires to resolve continuing problems with his right knee. The Argentina international had surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament in May last year after being injured in the Champions League semi-final, second leg against Manchester United. The 28-year-old missed the whole of Barca's treble-winning season.

Essien: Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien is available for Ghana's World Cup qualifier against Mali despite missing preparations for the match to attend a court case. Essien has completed his cross examination in a case in which his ex-girlfriend is seeking to clarify the status of their relationship in a divorce compensation claim.

Heynckes: Jupp Heynckes, who came out of retirement to briefly take over as coach of Bayern Munich towards the end of the season, has agreed a two-year deal with Bayer Leverkusen. Heynckes, who repeatedly ruled out taking over another team having steered Bayern to second place and automatic Champions League qualification this season after filling the gap left by the sacked Juergen Klinsmann, was delighted with his new job. "During my brief spell at Bayern I felt the fire in me still burning," the 64-year-old Heynckes said. "That is why I gladly take on this job."

Atletico: Atletico Madrid coach Abel Resino has agreed a one-year contract extension until the end of next season. The former Atletico goalkeeper stepped in to replace Javier Aguirre at the beginning of February as the side suffered a dip in form. He was unable to prevent them going out of the Champions League to Porto in the first knockout round, but engineered a late surge to grab fourth place in the league.

Atalanta coach: Serie A club Atalanta named Angelo Gregucci as their new coach yesterday. Gregucci coached Lecce in the top flight in 2005 and was most recently at Serie B side Vicenza. He replaces Luigi Del Neri, who left to become Sampdoria coach earlier this week.

Iniesta: Andres Iniesta dropped out of the Spain squad for the Confederations Cup yesterday, after tests confirmed the midfielder's thigh muscle injury as serious. Iniesta picked up the injury at the beginning of May and returned for the 2-0 Champions League final win over Manchester United in Rome, where he aggravated the problem.

Aliev out: Ukraine have lost Olexandr Aliev ahead of their World Cup qualifier in Croatia after the midfielder tore a ligament in his ankle. Aliev, who plays for Dynamo Kiev, will be out of action for a month.