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Chelsea’s Essien out for six weeks

Chelsea and Ghana midfielder Michael Essien will be out of action for up to six weeks after returning from the African Nations Cup with a knee injury, his club announced.

Essien, 27, damaged cartilage while training in Angola and although the injury has not proved as serious as first feared, he is unlikely to return before early March.

“He had a tear in the meniscus, and he has to stay out for four to six weeks,” Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti revealed. “I hope four.”

The lay-off means Essien will miss Chelsea’s potentially pivotal Premier League meeting with Arsenal and the first leg of the club’s Champions League second round tie against Inter Milan in Italy.

An ankle problem has meanwhile ruled Ashley Cole out of Chelsea’s FA Cup fourth round tie at Preston on Saturday.

Yury Zhirkov will deputise while Hilario will get a rare start in goal with Petr Cech rested for the meeting with opponents struggling in the bottom half of the Championship.

LONDON (AFP)

Tags: african nations cup, Angola, ashley cole, carlo ancelotti, cartilage, champions league, CHELSEA, FA Cup, ghana, inter milan, knee injury, london, meniscus, Michael Essien, midfielder, Milan, opponents, Petr Cech, premier league, Preston, six weeks, yury, Yury Zhirkov

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Milan loans Storari to Sampdoria

Sampdoria will have Milan’s Marco Storari on their squad for the next couple of months. The 32-year-old goalkeeper will finish the season on loan at the Genoa based side.

Storari will replace first choice goalie Luca Castellazzi, who wil be sidelined for the next six weeks.

Castellazzi sustained a knee injury during last Sunday’s match against Napoli (1-0 loss) and will have to undergo surgery.

Storari only was third choice at the San Siro behind Dida and Christian Abbiati despite a string of fine displays at the start of the season.

Tags: christian abbiati, dida, first choice, genoa, Goalkeeper, knee injury, last sunday, loans, Marco Storari, match, Milan, napoli, San, san siro, six weeks, third choice

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Injury blows add to Benitez´s Liverpool woes

Just when Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez thought things could not get any worse, he found himself facing up to the prospect of being without star players Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard.

The pain felt around Anfield following Wednesday’s shock extra-time FA Cup defeat by second division Reading, was compounded Thursday by news that Torres, Gerrard and Yossi Benayoun had all sustained injuries during the 2-1 extra-time loss.

Torres, who lasted barely half an hour at Anfield, faces the longest lay-off of the trio.

The Spain striker is set to be sidelined for six weeks with a knee injury while inspirational club captain Gerrard, substituted at half-time, is expected to be out for a fortnight with a hamstring injury.

Meanwhile, Israeli playmaker Benayoun – one of Liverpool’s better players in a terrible season so far for the Merseysiders – sustained a fractured rib against Reading and could be unavailable for at least a month.

Torres is to undergo an operation but England midfielder Gerrard may not need surgery.

“Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres both underwent scans earlier today (Thursday) after coming off in the FA Cup tie against Reading,” a Liverpool spokesman said.

“Steven has a hamstring strain and will be out for a fortnight, while Fernando has torn a cartilage in his right knee. The injury will require surgery and he is expected to be sidelined for six weeks.

“Yossi Benayoun also suffered a fractured rib in the game and will be unavailable for between three and four weeks.”

The trio will miss this weekend’s match against Stoke and the subsequent Premier League encounters with Tottenham and Wolves but the Reds will hope to have Gerrard back in time to face Bolton on January 30.

But the extent of Torres’s injury means he is set to miss next month’s Merseyside derby against Everton and February’s league match with Arsenal as well as the fixture with high-flyers Manchester City.

As well as being a blow to Liverpool, Torres’s injury will be a concern to European champions Spain ahead of this year’s World Cup finals in South Africa.

The injury setbacks came as pressure grew on Benitez, with former Liverpool captain Ronnie Whelan calling for the Spaniard to be sacked.

“He should have gone a long time ago,” Whelan told the BBC. “They have got to do it now.”

Liverpool started the season fancied to end the club’s 20-year-wait for the English title but they are currently 12 points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea.

Benitez recently “guaranteed” the five-times European Cup winners would finish in the top four and so qualify for next season’s Champions League but they are currently seventh in the table, having already crashed out of this season’s tournament at the group stage.

Now the only chance Liverpool, desperate for finance but hampered by the stand-off between feuding American co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks, have of winning a trophy this season rests with the Europa Cup.

It was only last year that Benitez signed a contract extension that is set to keep him with Liverpool until 2014 and doubts remain over whether, even if they wanted to sack him the club would be willing to afford the multi-million pounds pay-off they would have to give the Spaniard.

A defiant Benitez, speaking after the Reading match, said he’d got used to criticism.

“For three months everyone was talking about me. At the end, as a manager you have to be disappointed but then move forward and think about Stoke on Saturday,” added the Spaniard, who has been in charge at Anfield since 2004.

“We are frustrated but you have to carry on.”

And as the knives were being sharpened, Benitez did at least receive support from former Liverpool striker John Aldridge.

“We can turn the tide, I don’t think to get rid of Rafa now is the answer,” he told Sky Sports.

LONDON (AFP)

Tags: cartilage, club captain, everton, extra time, fa cup tie, Fernando Torres, fractured rib, half an hour, high flyers, knee injury, liverpool manager rafael benitez, manchester city, merseyside derby, midfielder, six weeks, star players, Steven Gerrard, time loss, yossi benayoun

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Rangers striker Boyd out with groin injury

In-form Rangers striker Kris Boyd is facing a lengthy lay-off after sustaining a groin injury in the cup match against Hamilton, manager Walter Smith said.

The 26-year-old Boyd is to see a specialist and could under go a hernia operation that would keep him out for up to six weeks.

Smith told the Scottish Daily Express: “Boyd will undergo an operation as soon as possible.

“He will be out for up to six weeks and we will just have to cope accordingly.”

The striker, who has been in top goal-scoring form of late, now faces a race to be fit for the Old Firm clash against Celtic at Ibrox on February 28.

GLASGOW (AFP)

Tags: Boyd, celtic, clash, daily express, Express, Glasgow, groin injury, Hamilton, hernia operation, Ibrox, match, rangers, Scottish, six weeks, specialist, walter smith

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Wenger willing to wait on Van Persie

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said on Tuesday he’d all but given up on the idea of Dutch striker Robin van Persie playing for the English Premier League club again this season.

However, he stressed the player would regain full fitness and once more be a force at top-flight level.

The 26-year-old forward suffered a right ankle injury while on international duty in November.

The Gunners had hoped the striker might be out for six weeks but instead he needed surgery and now Wenger believes the best van Persie and Arsenal can hope for is a return towards the end of the current campaign.

“If you are very positive you would say (he’ll be back in) April,” Wenger told the club’s website. “If you’re a bit cautious you say May. It is virtually the rest of the season.

“Personally I thought ‘Let’s put it in my head that he will not play again this season and hope that I will have a good surprise’,” the Frenchman added.

However, Wenger is confident van Persie will bounce back from the injury and rediscover his top form next season.

“When you have such a big surgery there is one thing that is important first of all, and that is the option of the surgeon, will he be the player he was before? We had a clear answer. ‘Yes’,” Wenger said.

“The second thing that is very important in the first stage after surgery is has he an infection or not? He hasn’t.

“The third thing is patience. At the moment he cannot do anything, he is just sitting at home waiting until he can work again. The first two steps have been very successful.”

Van Persie’s injury has led to speculation that Wenger will move for another forward when the transfer window re-opens next month.

Arsenal are third in the Premier League table and through to the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Wenger said he would have no concern in signing a player in January who was cup-tied for the Champions League, just as he did when bringing influential Russia forward Andrey Arshavin to north London at the same stage last season.

“Yes, I would,” Wenger said when asked. “We are going for the domestic title and the FA Cup as well and doing that allows you to rest a player for the Champions League or play another player in the Premier League.

“Of course I would prefer the player who can play in both competitions and so it would mean the player has the quality to play in the long-term for Arsenal Football Club.

“But we have an interested eye on the transfer window and if the right player turns up then we will do it.

“Sometimes you think that is a bargain you cannot turn down and don’t forget Arshavin got us into the Champions League last season.”

LONDON (AFP)

Tags: ankle injury, arsenal, champions league, English Premier League, fitness, flight level, frenchman, gunners, knockout stages, london, north London, patience, premier league, robin van persie, russia, six weeks, speculation, striker, top flight, two steps, Van Persie

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PSG: Coupet will return

Paris St Germain have insisted Gregory Coupet’s career will not be ended by his broken ankle. The 36-year-old goalkeeper broke his ankle when he wanted to kick a ball during the match against Auxerre (1-0 win), last Saturday. The goalie will be able to resume training within three months

Coupet’s leg buckled underneath him after he caught his studs in the turf while making an 82nd-minute clearance. Afterwards, PSG feared Coupet’s injury might force him to end his career but the former Olympique Lyon keeper thinks he will be able to return to the pitch in March.

“It was quite a clean break and he is predicting a return to the squad,” club president Robin Leproux told L’Equipe. “He will have to rest for six weeks and then begin his rehabilitation. Gregory has a smile on his lips, he knows the sequence that awaits him.”

Leproux also revealed the club will not look to sign a replacement keeper in the January transfer window and described Coupet’s likely deputy, Armenian Apoula Edel, as a “fantastic goalkeeper”. Coach Antoine Kombouare can also call on 34-year-old Willy Grondin, whom he raided former club Valenciennes to sign early in the season and has labelled “the best (goalkeeping) understudy in Ligue 1″.

Paul Haring

Tags: Antoine Kombouare, broken ankle, clean break, club president, edel, Germain, goalkeeper coach, Gregory, gregory coupet, grondin, last saturday, Ligue 1, Lyon, match, olympique lyon, PARIS, paris st germain, Paul Haring, psg, robin leproux, six weeks, studs, three months, understudy, Willy Grondin

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Gunners seek Euro tonic ahead of Chelsea showdown

Arsene Wenger has told his Arsenal stars to forget about a looming showdown with Chelsea and the absence of injured striker Robin van Persie as they look to book their place in the knockout stage of the Champions League.

A point at home to Standard Liege on Tuesday will ensure the Gunners of progression to the last 16 while victory over the Belgian champions would guarantee them top spot in group H.

That outcome would provide a welcome tonic five days ahead of Chelsea’s visit to the Emirates for an encounter that looks like being pivotal to Arsenal’s prospects of sustaining their Premier League challenge.

An unexpected defeat at Sunderland on Saturday has inevitably been interpreted as a sign of trouble along the road for Arsenal following the loss of top goalscorer van Persie to an ankle injury that will keep the Dutchman sidelined for up to six weeks.

It has also significantly increased the stakes involved in the meeting with Chelsea, who will kick off with an eight-point advantage over their London rivals.

“We have to forget about Chelsea,” Wenger said. “It’s important to win our next game and that is in the Champions League.

“Against Sunderland, I don’t think we missed anybody especially. We lost a game where we can only fault ourselves because we didn?t score, some players were not at their best and we gave a goal away on the only situation where Sunderland could score, a set piece.”

The defeat at Sunderland was Arsenal’s first in 14 matches but centreback Thomas Vermaelen does not believe it will seriously reduce the momentum the squad have established this season.

“It is important to stay focused, there are a lot of important games coming up,” the Belgian defender said.

Czech midfielder Tomas Rosicky drew a line under 18 months of injury agony when he made his first start for Arsenal since January 2008 in the opening match in the group, a 3-2 win in Liege.

And the 29-year-old has warned the Belgians that he will pose a much greater threat to them on Tuesday than he did on that night, when Arsenal had to fight back to take all the points after leaking two early goals.

“Fitness wise I have definitely improved in recent weeks,” Rosicky said. “I do not feel exhausted after the games or anything like that.

“In the matches I have started, I have not felt tired out even if the boss has decided to take me off, so I clearly have a good base of fitness to work with.

“I know there are some aspects I need to improve on, and they will get better as I play more and more so I am not worried about that.

“For example, a bit of explosiveness is something that I am still missing a little, but I know it will improve as I play more and will arrive naturally.”

LONDON (AFP)

Tags: agony, ankle injury, belgians, champions league, CHELSEA, dutchman, gunners, knockout stage, midfielder, momentum, point advantage, premier league, prospects, rivals, six weeks, standard liege, Sunderland, tomas rosicky, tonic, Wenger

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Wenger puts brave face on Van Persie loss

Arsene Wenger has shrugged off claims that the loss of Robin van Persie will fundamentally undermine Arsenal chances of closing the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea.

Wenger’s side currently lie second, five points behind Carlo Ancelotti’s team, and travel to face Sunderland without the Dutch striker who suffered ankle ligament damage in Holland’s international friendly with Italy.

Van Persie is expected to be out for six weeks and his absence undoubtedly comes as a blow to the Gunners who went into the international break on the back of a 13-game unbeaten run.

The forward’s contribution to that sequence of results has been immense with Van Persie adapting effectively to a new role this season that has seen him operate as the central figure in a front three.

With Nicklas Bendtner also injured, there is no obvious replacement to fill the role although Eduardo, the Croatia forward who signed a new long-term contract with the club this week, has made it clear he would like the opportunity to make the position his own.

Wenger has so far refused to indicate who will replace Van Persie, but he is confident he has sufficient cover in his squad and is simply relieved not to have lost his main striker for a longer period.

“We knew that when Robin came out with this injury, that he would be out for a long time,” Wenger said.

“But frankly I feared it would be more because the first news was very, very bad. So it was a relief that he would be out for six weeks.

“Of course it is a disappointment and something we did not want but I feel we have enough strength to compensate for his absence for a while. It will also allow him to be fresh for when he comes back.

While Arsenal’s recent run has attracted plenty of plaudits to counter the criticism that followed successive away defeats to Manchester United and Manchester City earlier in the campaign, they have largely faced teams they would normally expect to beat.

The next two league games, the trip to Sunderland and the visit of Chelsea to the Emirates Stadium, will reveal a lot more about their ability to maintain a title challenge throughout the course of the season.

Steve Bruce’s Sunderland side are one of the division’s most improved sides but the manager concedes the visit of Arsenal marks one of the most challenging games of the season, even with Van Persie and Bendtner sidelined.

Bruce said: “We’ve played well recently over the last few weeks without accumulating many points and we’re certainly going to have to replicate that level of performance against an Arsenal side who I think have scored more away goals than anyone this season.

“With Van Persie out and Bendtner out, let’s not beat about the bush, it does you a favour but we’ve got three or four players out as well. When they come to town and we have to match them and play against them.”

Bruce has struck up a good relationship with Wenger and has benefited in the past from the Arsenal manager’s willingness to allow his young players to team up with the former Manchester United defender on loan.

Sunderland’s chances haven’t been helped by the loss of centre back Michael Turner to suspension and with striker Kenwyne Jones still banned, Fraizer Campbell will start.

“Arsene’s given me about six or seven players down the years,” Bruce added.

“He especially helped me when I was at Birmingham so he’s been a big help to my managerial career and I’ve got huge respect to for him. He’s bordering on the genius.

“Arsenal are and always have been one of the top clubs in this country for the way they conduct themselves, they’ve got a bit of class.”

But he added: “Against Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea we’ve gone out there and given as good as we’ve got and come away with something in two of those three games.”

SUNDERLAND (AFP)

Tags: ankle ligament damage, arsenal, carlo ancelotti, closing the gap, disappointment, first news, five points, gap, league leaders, manchester city, manchester united, plaudits, premier league, robin van persie, six weeks, striker, term contract, Wenger

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Kuyt ´disappointed´ by Italy over Van Persie tackle

Dutch striker Dirk Kuyt said he was “disappointed” by the lack of respect Italy showed during last weekend’s friendly which saw fellow Netherlands forward Robin van Persie sustain an injury.

The Arsenal striker was stretchered off the pitch after being tackled by Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini 14 minutes into Saturday’s goalless draw in Pescara and could be out of action for up to six weeks.

Van Persie absolves Chiellini of blame but Kuyt said the challenge on the striker was symptomatic of Italy’s over-physical approach to what was only a friendly international.

“I was very disappointed (by Italy),” Kuyt told Sky Sports.

“We played a friendly against a big country and if you see the way they kicked us it’s very sad, very sad for the Dutch team and also very sad for Robin because he was in great form,” the Liverpool forward added.

“I think it was a bad tackle. Sometimes you think about this when you play a friendly for your country there should be more respect for each other and hopefully it won’t happen in the future.”

Van Persie has scored eight goals this season.

LONDON (AFP)

Tags: arsenal, dirk kuyt, dutch team, Italy, lack of respect, london, netherlands, pescara, physical approach, six weeks, Sky Sports

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Injury setback for Everton´s Jagielka

Everton defender Phil Jagielka could be sidelined until January after undergoing a second knee operation, the Premier League side revealed on Saturday.

Jagielka, 27, has been off the pitch since damaging knee ligaments in April but had been hoping to return to action before the end of November.

However he underwent surgery again on Wednesday on a small cartilage tear and Everton manager David Moyes said his return could now be pushed back.

“Jagielka had an operation on a tear in his meniscus, which is the cartilage in his knee,” said Moyes.

“We think (it has set him back) four to six weeks. He was down initially but he’s on the road to recovery now.”

Moyes told the official club website that striker Victor Anichebe has also suffered a complication in his recovery from a knee injury.

Anichebe has not played since February and the 21-year-old appears some way off a return to the first team.

Moyes said: “Victor’s not in a good way either. He had the pin taken out four to six weeks ago which had been catching on the side of his knee.

“Now what has happened (is that) he has a massive growth of bone and has a really big knee at the moment. We don’t know how long it will be.”

The double blow simply adds to Everton’s recent woes.

They have not won in their last seven games and also saw Mikel Arteta suffer a setback in his recovery from knee ligament damage earlier this week.

LIVERPOOL, England (AFP)

Tags: cartilage tear, David Moyes, double blow, England, knee injury, knee ligament damage, knee ligaments, knee operation, last seven games, Liverpool, liverpool england, massive growth, meniscus, Mikel Arteta, Phil Jagielka, pitch, premier league, setback, six weeks, striker, Victor, Victor Anichebe, woes

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