spain league News
Sevilla 9.10 : Diego Capel has been ruled out for four weeks after suffering a tear to his right thigh. The 20-year-old winger was hurt in training with Spain ahead of the World Cup qualifiers against Estonia and Belgium. Capel has made 6 Primera Division appearances this season. He could be back for Sevilla's UEFA Cup trip to Standard de Liege on November 6.
Real M. 7.10 : Arjen Robben faces a race to be fit for Real Madrid's UEFA Champions League trip to Juventus on October 21. The Dutch winger suffered a left thigh injury 25 minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute for Real Madrid in the 2-2 draw with Espanyol on Sunday. Robben will miss the Netherlands' World Cup qualifiers against Iceland and Norway.
Recreat. 7.10 : Recreativo Huelva have replaced coach Manolo Zambrano with former boss Lucas Alcaraz after a disappointing start to the Primera Division season. The club slipped to 18th in the standings after being hammered 4-0 at home by promoted Malaga on Sunday, and have taken only four points from their first six games. Alcaraz guided Recreativo to promotion to the top flight in 2002, but he could not prevent an immediate return to division two. He also guided the club to their first final of the King's Cup, where they lost 3-0 to Real Mallorca in 2003.
5.10 : A second-half goal from Manuel Fernandes gave Valencia a 1-0 victory at Valladolid and saw them regain top spot in the Primera Division on Sunday. The victory helped Valencia draw alongside Villarreal on 16 points from six games but they have the superior goal difference. No previous Valencia manager has started as well as Unai Emery, the youngest coach in the club's history at 36.
Sevilla trounced Athletic Bilbao 4-0 for their third straight league win to trail the leaders by two points. Real Madrid rallied twice to draw Espanyol 2-2 and joined Barcelona at 13 points. Real also lost Arjen Robben to a left leg injury 25 minutes after the Dutch midfielder came on as a second-half substitute. Barcelona stole the headlines after Pep Guardiola's team thrashed Atletico Madrid 6-1 at Camp Nou.
Villarreal 4.10 : Villarreal forward Nihat Kahveci faces up to six weeks in the treatment room with tears to his right thigh muscle. The 28-year-old had only recently made his comeback from a similar injury sustained with Turkey at Euro 2008, which required surgery and three months of recuperation. "Nihat complained of soreness during the league game at Gijon on 27 September," said chief medical officer Juan Albors. "He needs to rest and unfortunately will be sidelined for between four and six weeks, during which time we will try various form of physio to speed up his rehabilitation. If none of these works, we can't rule out the possibility of an operation."
Atletico M 1.10 : Atletico Madrid have been hit by an injury crisis ahead of their UEFA Champions League match against Marseille. Atletico lost defenders Giourkas Seitaridis and Pablo Ibanez during last weekend's 1-0 home defeat by Sevilla. The injured duo joined Diego Forlan, Simao and Maniche in the treatment room.
On a brighter note, defender John Heitinga returns to fitness while Maxi Rodriguez and Mariano Pernia are back from suspension. Coach Javier Aguirre conceded that he may have to field an untested team with Luis Garcia also nursing a sore foot that makes the former Liverpool forward a game-time decision.
Malaga 28.9 : Striker Alberto Luque is expected to be out for a month after injuring his foot in Malaga's 2-1 victory over Valladolid. The 30-year-old, who joined Malaga after a season at Ajax, was substituted in the 86th minute and was later determined to have ruptured a ligament in his right foot. Luque has featured in three of his team's first five Primera Division matches.
28.9 : Valencia joined Villarreal at the top of the Primera Division after two David Villa goals helped them to a 4-2 win against Deportivo La Coruna. Valencia have 13 points from five games, with Villarreal second on goal difference after they defeated 1-0 point-less Gijon. Reigning champions Real Madrid lie third a point behind after grabbing a 2-1 away win over Betis.
Luis Fabiano scored to give Sevilla a 1-0 victory at Atletico Madrid that moves the visitors into fourth place on 11 points. Lionel Messi's injury-time penalty gave Barcelona a 2-1 win against crosstown rivals Espanyol in a match that was halted for 10 minutes due to crowd trouble. Almeria beat nine-man Recreativo Huelva 1-0 to join Barcelona at 10 points.
