Basel lose Ivanov as Díaz signs on
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Article summary
FC Basel 1893 will be without Ivan Ivanov for the remainder of the season, but have received better news after Marcelo Díaz agreed a one-year contract extension.
Article top media content
Article body
FC Basel 1893 will be without central defender Ivan Ivanov for the remainder of the season after the 25-year-old tore an anterior cruciate ligament in a friendly match against Eintracht Braunschweig on Tuesday.
The Bulgarian international, who joined Basel from FK Partizan last August, will have an operation in the coming days and will be out of action for several months. Ivanov played 11 Super League games and six more in the UEFA Champions League in the autumn, and was named Bulgaria's Player of the Year for 2013 in December.
There has been more positive news for the Swiss top-flight leaders, with 27-year-old Chilean Marcelo Díaz signing a one-year contract extension, keeping him at the club until June 2017. The midfielder, recruited from Club Universidad de Chile in summer 2012, is expected to represent his country at this year's FIFA World Cup finals.
Basel meet Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 on 20 and 27 February.