Bayern Munich have confirmed that Holger Badstuber has torn cruciate knee ligaments and will miss the next six months of the season.
The 23-year-old defender lasted only 35 minutes of Saturday’s draw with Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga before being taken off the field in agony.
A scan carried out by Bayern’s club doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt yesterday confirmed the worst fears and the player will now undergo surgery today before beginning his recovery, which should take approximately six months.
Bale no diver says Villas-Boas
Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas leapt to the defence of Gareth Bale after the winger was booked for diving in his team’s 3-0 win at Fulham.
Bale has been dogged by allegations that he is a serial diver and the Welsh international was back in the spotlight for his latest theatrics at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
“Gareth is so fast so it is very difficult (for referees) to judge situations,” he said.
“He has suffered big, big injuries to his ankles before and sometimes he wants to protect himself a little bit. He might put his body in situations that the referee thinks that he is diving and he is suffering for it in these last two games.”
Milan to sell for SuperMario swoop
Milan could look to sell Brazilian pair Robinho and Alexandre Pato to boost coffers for a sensational January swoop on unsettled Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli.
Italian media have been linking Balotelli, formerly of Inter but a known supporter of Milan, with a shock move to the Rossoneri for several weeks.
The speculation gathered pace yesterday with reports suggesting club owner Silvio Berlusconi wants to recreate Balotelli’s partnership with fellow Italy striker Stephan El Shaarawy at Milan.
El Shaarawy has scored a league-topping 12 goals in 15 games so far for the seven-times European champions.
Del Piero injury fears for Sydney
Alessandro Del Piero came off with a hamstring injury as Sydney FC remained at the bottom of Australia’s A-League after firing blanks in a scoreless home draw with Melbourne Heart yesterday.
Playmaker Del Piero looked disconsolate after he was substituted with 20 minutes left with club officials describing it as a precautionary measure due to his troublesome hamstrings.
Del Piero missed a couple of matches earlier in the season with hamstring problems.
Arsenal chairman suffers heart attack
The chairman of Arsenal, Peter Hill-Wood, is recovering in hospital after suffering a heart attack, the club announced yesterday.
Arsenal revealed that the 76-year-old, a close ally of manager Arsene Wenger, had been suffering from pneumonia.
“Peter was taken ill at home on Friday and is currently being treated in hospital. He is making a good recovery,” read a statement from Arsenal.
“The club wishes Peter a full and speedy return to health and our thoughts are with him and his family at this time.”
Fans power forces keeper switch
Schalke coach Huub Stevens admitted he had been forced to give in to his club’s fans by fielding Timo Hildebrand in goal ahead of Lars Unnerstall in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Unnerstall had been made a scapegoat by the Schalke faithful for recent results and Stevens protected him from further abuse by leaving him on the bench.
“There have been lots of whistles against Lars recently and when a young goalkeeper gets jeered, then the coach has got to do something,” Stevens said.
“It’s not as if he’s made that many mistakes anyway. We wanted to get a bit more calm in the stadium.”
Derby success delights Karanka
Real Madrid assistant coach Aitor Karanka praised the character of the team after the 2-0 derby win over Atletico on Saturday night.
A wonderful free-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo lit up what was a disappointing first half before Mesut Ozil secured all three points with a tidy finish 25 minutes from time.
“We controlled the match more because we scored first to make it 1-0. We didn’t have too many problems at the back and they didn’t create chances.
“At half-time we talked about playing the same way and the team started off in much the same vein, by creating chances. It was a hard-fought game, but we were in control at all times.”