Sparta lose captain Sivok

The AC Sparta Praha captain's armband is turning into something of a poisoned chalice with latest incumbent Tomáš Sivok looking likely to miss the rest of the year following knee surgery.

Cruciate surgery
The midfield player underwent cruciate ligament surgery on his right knee on Friday and is now expected to miss at least the rest of his club's Group B campaign. "I am pretty annoyed as I was looking forward to playing for the national team and particularly to Sparta's [UEFA Champions League] game at Highbury," said Sivok.

Jogging schedule
"I hope to start jogging in December and playing in March," added the 22-year-old who replaced Karel Poborský as skipper late last month after the 33-year-old Czech international was sent on loan to second division SK Dynamo Ceské Budéjovice following a public fall-out with Sparta coach Jaroslav Hrebík.

Fateful start
Sivok first captained Sparta in their 1-0 Champions League defeat at FC Thun, playing the whole game despite picking up the knee injury in the process. "He proved that he had great heart," said Hrebík. "He really is a big champion and I hope he will return soon."

Unclear position
The next candidate in line for the Sparta armband is current vice-captain Jaromír Blažek, but his position is unclear after he was left on the bench by the coach for Sunday's league game. Slovakian defender Martin Petráš led the side against FK Teplice, becoming the fifth man to captain Sparta this season.

Team squabbles
Poborský, Blažek and Lukáš Zelenka have all captained the side this season but all have had disagreements with the coach and found themselves on the sidelines. With Sivok now out of the equation, Petráš may be the man to take charge on the field in future games.