Albertz blow for Hamburg

Hamburger SV defender Jörg Albertz will be out for three weeks after undergoing surgery on his injured knee.

'A bitter pill'
"It's a bitter pill for us to swallow," said Hamburg’s Austrian coach Kurt Jara. "We all saw how he was getting back to his best form before the winter break." Albertz sustained the injury when he slipped on a patch of ice during training and will now miss the club's preparations in Alicante, where Hamburg have set up their winter training camp in preparation for the resumption of the 1. Bundesliga on 26 January.

Further setback
The injury is a further setback for the former German international who has failed to rediscover the form he showed for Rangers FC since he rejoined Hamburg in the summer. His return to the AOL Arena has been blighted by niggling injuries and poor form and Albertz recently admitted that his career had hit rock-bottom when Hamburg's league slump was followed by a frustrating 2-0 home loss to VfB Stuttgart in the German Cup.

Plenty of work for Jara
Jara will now have to rethink his strategy for the left side of midfield - a position that Stig Töfting, Marcel Maltritz and Raphael Wicky can all fill.