Double blow for Hamburg

Hamburger SV have suffered a double blow with striker Erik Meijer expected to be sidelined for a month and Mahmut Yilmaz ruled out for the remainder of the season.

Doctor pleased
Meijer had a groin operation in Munich on Tuesday and is likely to be out of action for up to four weeks. Team doctor Gerold Schwartz said: "The operation went well. Erik is due back in Hamburg on Tuesday evening." The 32-year-old Dutchman, who has previously played for PSV Eindhoven, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Liverpool FC, picked up the injury in Saturday's 3-0 away defeat by VfB Stuttgart and had to be substituted early in the second-half.

Handicapped by problem
"My groin has been hurting ever since our preparations for the second half of the season," said Meijer. "At first I was hoping it would heal with rest, but that wasn't the case. The operation was not serious and I should be able to resume light training in five days."

Training accident
Former German Under-21 international Yilmaz suffered cruciate ligament damage in his right kneee in a collision with team-mate Bernd Hollerbach during training on Thursday. The forward has played 13 times for the 1. Bundesliga side in the last three years. Another Hamburg player, former German international midfield player Jörg Albertz, had a minor knee operation at the beginning of the month.