Thiago: Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara has been ruled out of action for up to eight weeks after rupturing ligaments in his right knee in Saturday’s 3-2 win over Sevilla, the club said. “Tests performed on Sunday (yesterday) confirmed that the player suffered a rupture of the ligaments in his right knee. His absence is estimated at eight weeks,” said a club statement.

Vukcevic: Hoffenheim mid-fielder Boris Vukcevic remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital following a car crash. The 22-year-old is still in a coma after two nights in a Heidelberg clinic following the accident, which occurred while the player was on his way to training on Friday. He remains in intensive care, his club confirmed yesterday, and his condition “remains critical”, but he is in “the best possible hands”.

Vlachos goes: AEK Athens have parted with head coach Vangelis Vlachos, the cash-strapped Greek Super League club said. Vlachos, 50, who was appointed in pre-season, has presided over one of AEK’s worst starts to a domestic season with the Yellows losing four of their first five games. The latest defeat came on Saturday, a 1-0 reverse at Panionios, which left them bottom of the 16-team table.

Violence: Partizan Belgrade stayed two points clear at the top with a 3-0 victory at Vojvodina Novi Sad on Saturday but the match was marred by serious crowd trouble. Rival supporters clashed in one of the stands and littered the pitch with flares, forcing riot police to move in and officials to suspend play for several minutes. The scenes again highlighted the need for a tougher implementation of anti-hooliganism laws after years of soccer violence in Serbia.

Rio’s choice: Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson is hoping Rio Ferdinand has given up on his England career. There has been speculation lately that England boss Roy Hodgson may at last turn to 33-year-old Ferdinand but Ferguson said: “Rio could do the job for England, no doubt about that but I don’t see why he should. He should concentrate on his career here, that’s what I’d prefer.”