Gignac: France striker Andre-Pierre Gignac will be taking a big risk if he plays for UANL Tigres in the second leg of the Mexican Apertura Championship final at home to America today after suffering a neck injury, a specialist said yesterday. Gignac was injured during the first leg after scoring for Tigres in the 45th minute of a 1-1 draw at the Azteca on Thursday and specialist sports injury chiropractor Mercedes D’Acosta said he would need at least two weeks to recover.
Kirchhoff: Sunderland midfielder Jan Kirchhoff will be out of action for around three months after undergoing knee surgery, manager David Moyes told reporters. “Jan had an operation during the week to repair his lateral meniscus. At the moment we think it’ll be close to 12 weeks,” Moyes told reporters ahead of tomorrow’s match at Manchester United. Moyes was ten months into a six-year contract when he was fired by United in 2014.
Bournemouth: Bournemouth’s Junior Stanislas and Andrew Surman could be in contention for the game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Boxing Day. Manager Eddie Howe is planning to make a late decision on the fitness levels of Stanislas, who has not featured since the beginning of the month because of ankle trouble, and Surman – who has been unavailable since October due to a hamstring problem. Lewis Cook remains sidelined for the Premier League match due to an ankle injury.
Fazio: Federico Fazio has joined Roma on a permanent basis as the towering defender made enough appearances to activate the €3.2m transfer from Tottenham Hotspur. The Argentine defender arrived at the Serie A club in the summer on loan for €1.2m and had a clause that automatically activated the permanent transfer if he reached certain targets. Fazio, who has been a regular member for Roma this season, has now made the right number of appearances to make his move permanent.
Sakho: West Ham will be without Diafra Sakho for tomorrow’s match at Swansea after boss Slaven Bilic confirmed that the striker could be out for six to eight weeks due to a back injury. The Senegal international has only made two appearances during his injury-plagued season but was substituted during the draw against Manchester United last month.