Chelsea lose Cech for a month
London: Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech will be sidelined for three to four weeks after suffering a knee ligament injury in training, manager Andre Villas-Boas told a news conference on Thursday. Cech fell awkwardly during yesterday’s session and Chelsea will be hoping he returns in time for the Premier League trip to champions Manchester United on September 18. Cech appears certain to miss the Czech Republic’s Euro 2012 Group I qualifier tie in Scotland on September 3. Villas-Boas said: ”Petr Cech yesterday suffered a medial ligament injury and will be out for three to four weeks. ”…it was the end of training a normal training injury, he fell awkwardly with his weight on top of him and stretched a little bit the ligament, we expected much worse when we saw the incident.” In the 29-year-old’s absence Villas-Boas will have to call on one of his back-up keepers, Hilario or Ross Turnbull, for Saturday’s Premier League game at home to West Bromwich Albion. (Reuters)
Eto’o move to Anzhi goes cold: Agent
ROME: An agent mediating in negotiations between Inter Milan and Anzhi Makhachkala over the transfer of Samuel Eto’o said on Thursday that the deal has gone cold. Representatives of both clubs have been meeting all week but have failed to come to an agreement on a transfer fee. Cameroon captain Eto’o has allegedly agreed terms with the Russian club, believed to be worth 20 million euros a season. He was supposed to undergo a medical in Rome on Thursday. However Peppino Tirri said following a meeting in Milan that for the moment it was all off. “For now the negotiations have gone ice cold and I’m not optimistic at all,” he told reporters. (Agencies)
Cologne fans banned for 3 years
FRANKFURT: Cologne has banned three people for three years from all Bundesliga games after they were identified from a group of fans who threw containers with human waste at rival fans from Schalke. Cologne says it “strongly condemns” the incident which occurred on Saturday during the team’s 5-1 loss at Schalke and won’t tolerate a repeat of such behaviour. Other fans are also under investigation. Meanwhile, football authorities are looking into an incident in Hoffenheim where a club employee placed a high-frequency loudspeaker near Borussia Dortmund fans to drown out their singing. Hoffenheim won 1-0. (Agencies)