Sand stands aside for Schalke

FC Schalke 04

RAA Louviéroise have appointed former Belgium goalkeeper Gilbert Bodart as their new coach. The 43-year-old succeeds Emilio Ferrera who was dismissed on 3 October with the club rooted to the bottom of the table. Bodart, who had been working at KV Oostende until January, will hope to rectify a run of results that has left the club with just four points from ten matches.

KAA Gent defender Nicolas Lombaerts could be out for a month after damaging ankle ligaments while on Under-21 duty for Belgium against Lithuania last week. The 20-year-old will miss at least two domestic matches and also faces a race against time to be fit for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship play-off against Ukraine on 12 and 16 November.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC captain Stuart Golabek may need surgery to cure a niggling groin injury which has kept him out of action for the past month. The 30-year-old left-back suffered a recurrence of the problem as he attempted to make a comeback in Monday's reserve outing against Aberdeen FC and will now see a specialist next week to see if he requires an operation.

German international Marcell Jansen has agreed a new one-year contract at VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach that will tie him to the club until summer 2009. The defender's current deal expired on June 30 2008. "We are delighted that he has extended his contract," said sporting director Peter Pander. "Marcell is an important player for the club."

RCD Mallorca's torrid season took a turn for the worse when they were eliminated from the Copa del Rey by third division CD Alcoyano on Thursday night. Lying bottom of the Primera División, the Balearic side had hoped for some respite in the cup but instead found themselves on the wrong end of a 4-1 scoreline.

Lithuanian businessman Vladimir Romanov has increased his shareholding in Scottish Premier League leaders Heart of Midlothian FC to 55.5 per cent and wants to take complete control. Romanov became the majority shareholder in February 2005 and is now obliged to make an offer for the remaining stock. Hearts chairman George Foulkes said such a move was "in the best interests of Hearts, its shareholders, staff and fans".

Meanwhile, Falkirk FC have added to their squad with the signings of Dutch pair Tomas Litjens and Fouzi Mesaoudi. The 21-year-old centre-back Litjens previously played with Roda JC while midfielder Mesaoudi, 24, came from first division side Haarlem FC.

Celtic FC defender John Kennedy faces another few months on the sidelines after having a fourth operation in the United States to repair ligament damage to his left knee. The 22-year-old has been out of the game since March 2004 when he was injured on his Scotland debut against Romania at Hampden Park and suffered a setback last week when he twisted his knee in training.