Knee injury sidelines Mutzel

VfB Stuttgart midfield player Michael Mutzel will be out of action for at least six weeks after suffering a torn ligament in his right knee.

Bremen defeat
The 23-year-old former Under-21 international, who joined Stuttgart in the summer from Eintracht Frankfurt, faces being on the sidelines until January 2003. He picked up the injury last Sunday in Stuttgart's 3-1 defeat at SV Werder Bremen but was forced to play on because coach Felix Magath had already made three substitutions.

Surprise package
Mutzel will not only miss Saturday's 1. Bundesliga game against league leaders FC Bayern München, but also the second leg of the third-round UEFA Cup tie against Club Brugge KV. Stuttgart, who qualified for the UEFA Cup through the UEFA Intertoto Cup, won the first leg in Brugge 2-1 thanks to late goals from Krassimir Balakov and Kevin Kuranyi. The second leg takes place on Thursday 12 December.