More misery for Madrid's Metzelder

Real Madrid CF coach Bernd Schuster has revealed that German international centre-back Christoph Metzelder faces up to two months on the sidelines to cure a persistent foot injury.

Persistent problem
The 27-year-old defender suffered the injury at the start of December and has subsequently made only one appearance for the Spanish champions, with any operation expected to rule him out of both legs of the UEFA Champions League first knockout round tie against AS Roma on 19 February and 5 March. "It's bad news. It's a hard injury to recover from and he might need surgery," said Schuster. "He'll be out for between six and eight weeks. I hope to have him back for the end of the season. It's a shame to lose him now."