Blow for Real Madrid as Higuain out for a month

Madrid, Nov 9 (IANS) Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain will be out of action for around a month as a result of the muscle injury he picked up against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League football tournament.

Higuain was substituted at half time in the game Tuesday after suffering the injury in the first half and tests carried out Friday confirmed that he has a torn muscle that will keep him out of action for between three and four weeks, reports Xinhua.

The first game Higuain misses is Sunday’s tricky Spanish Primera Liga match away to Levante, one of the few places where his side lost last season. He will also miss the Champions League trip to play Manchester City and the home game against Athletic Club Bilbao the preceding Saturday.

The injury is a setback for the Argentinean who has been in excellent form this season, scoring seven goals in less than 700 minutes action in the league and earning the right to start in the team ahead of Karim Benzema, who looked last season as he had become first choice for Mourinho.

Benzema will also miss out at the weekend with a slight muscle problem that kept him out in midweek, but the French international should be back to face Athletic Club, meanwhile Fabio Coentrao has returned to training after a month out with an injury he picked up on international duty.

IANS 2012-11-09 18:56:05