Torino midfielder Alexander Farnerud is expected to be sidelined for at least six months after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
The Sweden international sustained the injury during training on Saturday.
Farnerud, 31, suffered the same injury 13 months ago and returned to action on October 26.
He has made 21 league appearances since for Torino.
His absence comes as a blow to Giampiero Ventura’s side, who have an outside chance of qualifying for the Europa League.
Messi eyeing treble
Lionel Messi wants to put an exclamation mark on what has already been a title-winning campaign for Barcelona.
The Catalans clinched the Liga title at the weekend and now Barca are taking aim at the Copa del Rey final on May 30 against Athletic Bilbao before turning their attention to the Champions League final against Juventus in Berlin on June 6.
Messi has written on his Facebook page: “La Liga title is very special but this team is incredible and still wants more this year.
“Forca (strength to) Barca!”
Messi has scored 54 goals in 54 appearances in all competitions for Barcelona this season.
Figo has no plans to quit FIFA campaign
FIFA presidential candidate Luis Figo says he has no plans to quit his campaign.
Figo was reacting to a story published yesterday by Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant.
A spokesman for Figo said: “We reiterate what we said on the first day. Luis is an independent candidate and he will keep being independent.”
Figo and fellow hopeful Michael van Praag, along with Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, are all standing against incumbent Sepp Blatter at the election at the FIFA Congress in Zurich on May 29.
They have met at least once in the last two weeks to discuss their strategies, and to consider if all three would continue with their bids.
Italy PM Renzi calls for soccer clean-up
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said yesterday he was embarrassed by the latest match-fixing scandal to hit Italian soccer and called for sweeping changes to clean up the game.
Renzi had already promised to make radical changes to professional soccer a year ago but these reforms never materialised.
“I am disgusted by what is happening in our soccer. In the last few years there have been repeated scandals that leave you speechless,” Renzi said.
He added Italy should follow the example of England which has largely rooted out fan violence and invested in high quality stadiums to make them more attractive to families.
Kane named in England U-21 squad
Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane has been included in the provisional England squad for this year’s under-21 European Championship in the Czech Re-public, manager Gareth Southgate said yesterday.
The 21-year-old Kane, who has scored 30 goals in all competitions for Spurs this season, earned his first England senior cap in March when he scored within two minutes of coming on as a substitute against Lithuania.
Southgate has selected an initial 27-man squad which will be reduced to 23 on June 2.
Manchester United’s Luke Shaw has been left out by Southgate following discussions over the left-back’s fitness with club manager Louis van Gaal.
CONMEBOL rejects Boca Juniors appeal
Boca Juniors’ appeal against their expulsion from this year’s Libertadores Cup has been rejected, the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) said.
The Argentine team were kicked out the tournament after a fan sprayed pepper in the faces of rival River Plate players at half-time during their last 16 tie on Thursday.
The club was also given a $200,000 fine and ordered to play four home games behind closed doors and four away matches without its fans.
“CONMEBOL’s disciplinary tribunal rejects the appeal by Boca Juniors. The contested decision therefore is confirmed in its entirety,” a statement said.
River Plate were awarded the tie and play Cruzeiro tonight.
Licence revoked
Football Federation Australia (FFA) terminated the A-League licence held by the owners of the Newcastle Jets with immediate effect after the club went into administration.
The FFA said the licence would go to a new club in the port city which would be “owned and controlled” by the governing body and compete in the A-League.
Nathan Tinkler, who owned the Jets through the Hunter Sports Group (HSG), had earlier placed the club in voluntary administration with debts of A$2.7 million (€1.9 million).
The former mining magnate, who has lost a fortune because of a slump in coal prices, failed to pay the wages on time for the third occasion in four months last week and the club released a statement on Monday saying funds were not available.