Rachmin faces long absence

Hapoel Tel-Aviv goalkeeper Nir Rachmin will be out of action for six months after suffering a cruciate ligament injury.

Surgery required
Rachmin was carried off on a stretcher five minutes into his team's 2-2 draw with Maccabi Netanya, and underwent an arthoscopy, which confirmed that he will require surgery on an injury similar to that suffered by Israeli rivals Maccabi Haifa's goalkeeper Nir Davidovic.

Elimelech returns
Shavit Elimelech, who was part of the Tel-Aviv team that reached the 2001/02 UEFA Cup quarter-finals, will now return to the team for Thursday's first round second leg match in the same competition against FC Kärnten of Austria.

Captain out
Tel-Aviv, who lead the tie 4-0 after the away first leg, are also likely to be without captain Shimon Gershon for the return due to a knee problem.