Lyon's Cris ruled out for six months
Lyon captain Cris has been ruled out of action for six months after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, the French champions confirmed.
The Brazilian central defender had an MRI scan on Monday and is expected to undergo surgery in the comings days.
Cris, who was named team skipper this summer, picked up the injury on Saturday as the six-in-a-row champions fell to a shock 1-0 defeat at Toulouse.
His absence follows that of goalkeeper Gregory Coupet who has been ruled out for four months with a left knee injury.
"It's a terrible blow," Lyon sporting advisor Bernard Lacombe told AFP. "Now we have to see what we can do, noteably the possibilites we have to recruit."
Bolton Wanderers striker Kevin Davies could be on the sidelines for up to six weeks after suffering a torn hamstring, boss Sammy Lee said Monday. He sustained the injury during the 3-1 defeat at home to Newcastle United on Saturday's opening day of the English Premier League.
"Davo has suffered a slight tear in a hamstring and will be out for up to six weeks," Lee said according to the club's website.
"It's a massive blow as he's such an influential player in our team but it will give an opportunity for somebody else to stake their claim."
And the UEFA Cup side's forward Ricardo Vaz Te was to have a scan later Monday on the foot injury that forced Lee to replace him at half-time during the defeat to the Magpies.
Meanwhile Sweden winger Christian Wilhelmsson could make his Trotters debut in Wednesday's match at Fulham after receiving his international clearance.
He is on a season-long loan at the Reebok from French club Nantes.
Just when Jose Mourinho thought his injury worries were starting to fade, Michael Essien has joined the ranks of Chelsea's walking wounded. Essien suffered a knee ligament injury in Sunday's record-breaking win over Birmingham and the Ghana midfielder is a doubt for Wednesday's trip to Reading.
After a pre-season scarred by injuries to a host of key players including captain John Terry, Mourinho must have thought things were looking up as Didier Drogba made a quicker than expected return to fitness against Steve Bruce's side.
Instead he could be facing a spell without his most versatile player.
Essien's value was underlined against Birmingham. He capped a dynamic display with the winner that ensured Chelsea extended their unbeaten run in league matches at Stamford Bridge to 64, beating Liverpool's previous top-flight record.
"It was something in the knee ligament," Mourinho said. "He (Essien) was limping and the doctor was saying he was in pain.
"I had two midfielders on the bench so I made the change immediately. If you ask me if he is ready for Wednesday I don't know.
"Claude Makelele will train with me on Monday, so will Paulo Ferreira. But Andriy Shevchenko, Terry, Wayne Bridge and Michael Ballack will be out."
Mourinho knows he cannot afford to take Reading lightly on Wednesday. Steve Coppell's side earned a gritty draw at Manchester United on Sunday and will fancy their chances of upsetting Chelsea.
As a result, Mourinho will resist the temptation to make significant changes to his team ahead of next Sunday's clash at Liverpool.
"These are different games, so maybe different choices but basically this is a moment when the players need to play," he said.
"I'm not going to make rotation like I would do if we were in February or March with Champions League matches around the corner.
"Reading played on Sunday like we did and it is the same for Liverpool next weekend. We play against Reading on Wednesday and they play Toulouse the same day."
Chelsea had to work hard for their record in a dramatic match. They fell behind to Mikael Forssell's early header, but Claudio Pizarro equalised two minutes later when goalkeeper Colin Doyle let his shot trickle in.
Florent Malouda finished a fine move to put Chelsea ahead before Olivier Kapo unleashed a stunning equaliser for the visitors.
Essien won it in the 50th minute when his curling drive was weakly palmed into the net by Doyle.
Mourinho is already setting his sights on reaching a personal milestone when Portsmouth visit on August 25.
If Chelsea avoid defeat in that match he will have got to a century of unbeaten home league matches during his time at the London club and Porto.
"I'm on 99 with my personal record and I hope my friend Harry Redknapp (the Portsmouth manager) does not kill my record of 100 in the next game at home because I would love to get there."
Birmingham boss Bruce took plenty of positives from the way his newly-promoted team went toe to toe with Chelsea.
"If we keep producing performances like that we will make a fist of it that's sure," Bruce said. "We know it will be difficult but if we keep showing that attitude we've got an outstanding chance."
One source of optimism for Bruce was the performance of France midfielder Kapo.
Bruce said: "I thought he was arguably the best player on the pitch. I saw him playing for Auxerre against Arsenal four years ago and he was fantastic.
"He got a big money move to Juventus but it didn't quite work for him.
"He is a natural footballer and put in a good shift for us. He will enhance the Premiership and we are delighted we've got him."
Former Celtic midfielder Stephen Pearson was rewarded Monday for helping Derby return to the English top flight with a call-up to the Scotland squad. Pearson, who has six caps, was named by manager Alex McLeish in his 22-man squad for the friendly against visitors South Africa at Pittodrie in Aberdeen on August 22.
"It's a chance for us to look at another midfield while at the same time bearing in mind that victory is still very important for us," said McLeish.
"We want to win this game but I have rested some of the senior players and I have got them on a stand-by list should we have any problems."
The 24-year-old Pearson's former Motherwell team-mate James McFadden is also included despite missing Everton's first match of the season through injury.
But there is no place for Rangers midfielder Charlie Adam or Kilmarnock forward Steven Naismith following their Scotland debuts in June.
Naismith has been named in the Under-21 squad for their clash with the Czech Republic the night before the South Africa game.
However, McLeish urged the young pair to show patience.
"If they are disappointed to be left out, they shouldn't be. They just have to keep the form they have shown," he said.
"It's important we don't rush the young players."
Scotland squad
Goalkeepers: Neil Alexander (Ipswich/ENG), Craig Gordon (Sunderland/ENG), David Marshall (Norwich/ENG), Allan McGregor (Rangers)
Defenders: Graham Alexander (Preston/ENG), Russell Anderson (Sunderland/ENG), Gary Caldwell (Celtic), Alan Hutton (Rangers), Jay McEveley (Derby/ENG), Stephen McManus (Celtic), Steven Pressley (Celtic)
Midfielders: Scott Brown (Celtic), Darren Fletcher (Manchester Utd/ENG), Stephen Pearson (Derby/ENG), Barry Robson (Dundee Utd), Gary Teale (Derby/ENG)
Forwards: Craig Beattie (West Bromwich/ENG), Kris Boyd (Rangers), James McFadden (Everton/ENG), Shaun Maloney (Aston Villa/ENG), Kenny Miller (Celtic), Garry O'Connor (Birmingham/ENG)
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