Bayern Munich will be without Kingsley Coman until after the Bundesliga s mid-season break, but the winger suffered no serious damage after sustaining a knee injury against Tottenham.

Coman, who had opened the scoring, went off early in the Champions League encounter at Allianz Arena after appearing to suffer a hyperextension of his left knee while attempting to chase down an errant pass.

Bayern then said Coman had suffered a capsule tear in the left knee but a further update from the club on Thursday delivered a more positive update.

The France international is expected to be fit enough to return to action next month, says the club s chief medical officer Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt.

Naturally, we were all extremely worried at first. But Kingsley is…

Xabi Alonso s immediate future has been decided, with the former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich star signing a new one-year contract with Real Sociedad.

Alonso first took up a coaching role at Madrid, but left Los Blancos to take over La Real s B team in 2019, penning a two-year deal.

In a season curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic, Alonso guided the reserve side to a fifth-placed finish in Segunda Division B.

This week, he was the subject of intense speculation linking him with a switch to Bundesliga club Borussia Monchengladbach, whose current head coach Marco Rose will be joining Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season.

Rumours of the move being all but done proved to be premature, however, and though several clubs are said to have bee…

According to a recent report from Bild, Borussia Dortmund are planning a move for Hakim Ziyech.

Chelsea signed the Ajax star in summer 2020 for a fee believed to be around £37 million. Alas, after struggling for playing time under Thomas Tuchel, it would appear as if the time has come for him to move on.

A permanent sale during the January transfer window isn’t likely to be on the horizon, and instead, Dortmund are hoping to land the 28-year-old on a loan deal.

They ll be planning for their own future without some of their top stars and that certainly includes Erling Haaland. The star Norwegian is one of the big names still left in the first team squad for Dortmund and while Ziyech wouldn t serve as a direct replacement, he d be another star to add into the r…

Juventus maintained their unbeaten start to the Serie A season with a 2-0 win at bottom side Empoli.

Danilo fired the visitors in front in the 24th minute and Federico Chiesa made sure of the points late in the second period after Dusan Vlahovic had seen a poor first-half penalty saved by debutant Etrit Berisha.

The win lifts Juve to third in the table, two points behind Inter and AC Milan, while Empoli have now failed to score in any of their three league games this season after crashing out of the Coppa Italia to Serie B Cittadella.

Our 2 goalscorers as we made it 2 from 2 on the road

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen)

Vlahovic had the first shot on target in the seventh minute, but his right-footed effort was gathered at his near post at the sec…

What the papers say

The deadline day drama is starting to warm up for a second act in January with the Evening Standard reporting that Bayern Munich look set to launch a fresh bid for Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha at the start of the year.

Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris will be in playing exile until January after the 36-year-old dug in his heels over moving clubs, despite The Guardian reporting Spurs received offers for the French international.

The Daily Telegraph reports Spurs defender Eric Dier has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia, shortly after holding talks with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy after boss Ange Postecoglou froze out the England player.

Social media round-up

Steven Alzate leaves Brighton to join Standard Liege on loan deal until Ju…

Galatasaray have completed the signing of Brazilian midfielder Felipe Melo from Juventus.

The 30-year-old spent the last two seasons on loan at the Turk Telekom Arena and a permanent transfer has finally gone through after lengthy negotiations over the fee.

The clubs have agreed a €3.75million deal for the Brazil international, with a number of performance-related payments also included.

A statement on Juventus website read: Juventus Football Club can announce that Brazilian midfielder Felipe Melo de Carvalho has today been sold to Turkish side Galatasaray for an initial fee of €3.75m.

The payment could rise by a further €0.5m should the player achieve certain sporting targets stipulated in the agreement between the two clubs.

Before moving to Turin …

Argentina legend Diego Maradona believes Cristiano Ronaldo is more deserving of the FIFA Ballon d Or than compatriot Lionel Messi.

The prestigious award is set to be handed out in Zurich on January 13, with Ronaldo, Messi and Bayern Munich s Franck Ribery all in the running to be crowned the world s best player.

A win for the Argentina international would see him ranked as the best player on the planet for the fifth year running, but Maradona claims 2008 winner Ronaldo should take the honour.

Former Argentina international Maradona, his country s coach for the FIFA World Cup in 2010, feels Messi s injury problems this season have held him back and Real Madrid forward Ronaldo has earned the accolade.

Cristiano Ronaldo should win. Messi has been injured a lot th…

Anthony Martial struck in stoppage time to send Manchester United in to the FA Cup final with a 2-1 win over Everton, capping a miserable week for the Merseyside club.

Roberto Martinez s team were much improved from the midweek derby rout they suffered at the hands of Liverpool but Martial ensured there will be no let-up in the growing pressure on the Spaniard.

France international Martial dazzled throughout Saturday s clash at Wembley and crafted the opening goal for United s former Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini.

David de Gea s magnificent penalty save from Romelu Lukaku, who missed a host of opportunities on an afternoon to forget, seemed to galvanise Martinez s men, who dominated the closing half an hour and deservedly equalised through a Chris Smal…

Kaka has set himself a short-term target of scoring his 100th goal for Milan as he prepares for his first game back with the club.

The 31-year-old Brazil international has returned to Milan after four seasons with Real Madrid and wants to quickly score five goals to reach the 100-goal mark for the Serie A club.

Kaka could play for Milan against Torino on Saturday and speaking ahead of the trip to Turin, the veteran attacking midfielder underlined how excited he is at the prospect of pulling on the red-and-black-striped shirt again.

I am happy with all this enthusiasm, Kaka said.

I am training well and feel like a kid about to make his debut.

Kaka scored 95 goals in 270 games for Milan between 2003 and 2009 but only managed 29 in 120 matches for Real.

…

The behaviour of supporters has dominated most of the headlines ahead of Russia s second Euro 2016 Group B match against Slovakia in Lille on Wednesday.

Clashes between Russian, English and French hooligans caused mayhem in Marseille ahead of the 1-1 draw with England last weekend, prompting riot police to intervene with teargas, although none of the six individuals charged with criminal offences were Russian.

The match itself was overshadowed by more violence as scores of Russian fans crossed a feeble cordon in the stands to attack the English and neutral supporters, leading to a number of injuries and the arrest of two more individuals for pitch encroachment.

Despite UEFA warnings over possible disqualification, Russian Football Union executive committee membe…