Meissner setback for Stuttgart

Midfielder Silvio Meissner has been added to VfB Stuttgart's lengthy injury list after tearing a muscle in his left thigh during Saturday's goalless draw against BV Borussia Dortmund. The 33-year-old joins Timo Hildebrand, Matthieu Delpierre, Ludovic Magnin, Fernando Meira and Danijel Ljuboja on the sidelines ahead of next week's trip to VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach.

AZ Alkmaar midfielder Michael Buskermolen has retired from football with immediate effect, having originally intended to hang up his boots at the end of the season. The 34-year-old has the full backing of the Dutch club, which stated: "We will do anything to give Michael Buskermolen a fitting farewell at the end of the campaign." Buskermolen, who played 399 league games for AZ following his debut in the 1990/91 season, will work in AZ's youth department from the summer onwards. His final appearance was as a substitute in the 5-0 defeat of RBC Roosendaal on 7 February.

Manchester City FC winger Lee Croft has signed a new contract, tying him to the club until 2008. The 20-year-old, who has made 16 Premiership appearances this season, said: "I'm glad to be here, and hopefully I can look forward to getting my chance to play in the first team more often."

FC Utrecht have agreed to release winger Dave van den Bergh at the end of the season, allowing the 29-year-old former Dutch international to move to the United States with his American wife. However, Utrecht's co-operation depends on their receiving a transfer fee for Van den Bergh should the former AFC Ajax and Rayo Vallecano player decide to return to European football before the expiry date of his contract, June 2007.

Brazilian coach Paulo Bonamigo, 46, has been sacked by CS Marítimo following Saturday's 0-0 Portuguese Liga draw against Rio Ave FC. The Madeira team will be led by assistant coaches João Abel and Humberto Fernandes for Wednesday's Portuguese Cup quarter-final against FC Porto.

FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk coach Oleg Protasov has cancelled the contract of Ukrainian international midfielder Olexandr Rykun after the 27-year-old failed to turn up for training. "Rykun has not attended a single session since we returned from pre-season training in Turkey," said Protasov. "I can only conclude he is not interested, so we are not interested either. He is no longer a Dnipro player."

Dutch Eredivisie side BV Vitesse may be without Ghanaian international midfielder Abubakari Yakubu for a month after the 24-year-old was injured during Sunday's 5-1 win against RBC Roosendaal. Reports suggest he has torn a muscle in his left thigh.

Ziya Doğan has resigned as coach of Turkish Superleague side Malatyaspor following a run of poor results. Sunday's 3-2 defeat at fellow strugglers Diyarbakırspor proved to be the final straw for Doğan. Malatyaspor are level on points with bottom club Samsunspor.

FK Partizan president Ivan Curković is to leave his post after 17 years, having been elected head of Serbia and Montenegro's Olympic Committee. "This is a very hard decision for me," he said. "But I must be honest and professional." A Partizan goalkeeper between 1964 and 1972, Curković also played for AS Saint-Etienne in France.

Yassen Petrov has been appointed coach of Bulgarian side PFC Cherno More Varna. The 37-year-old, who also leads Bulgaria's Under-17 team, has signed a 15-month deal following the resignation of Ilian Iliev. Meanwhile, PFC Botev Plovdiv have suspended striker Georgi Kakalov until 31 May following an on-field confrontation with team-mate Veselin Minev during Saturday's 2-2 draw against PFC Beroe Stara Zagora.

Finnish club FF Jaro have suffered a double injury blow with defender Toni Hevonkorpi and midfielder Toni Junnila both suffering damage to cruciate knee ligaments. The pair will be sidelined for several months.

Elsewhere in Finland, champions Myllykosken Pallo-47 have welcomed back defensive midfielder Tero Karhu, who spent the winter in England studying and training. However, Karhu failed to win a deal there and will now spend the 2006 season with MyPa.

Olympique de Marseille are awaiting news on goalkeeper Fabien Barthez, who limped off after 86 minutes of Sunday's 2-0 home win against St-Etienne in Ligue 1. The 34-year-old, competing with Olympique Lyonnais' Grégory Coupet for France's No1 spot at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, appeared to have injured his left leg.

German club 1. FC Kaiserslautern's Bundesliga survival hopes have been dealt a blow after in-form striker Halil Altıntop suffered an ankle ligament injury in the 3-0 reverse at Hamburger SV on Sunday. The 23-year-old, who has scored 14 goals in 25 outings this term, faces a race to be fit to play Borussia Dortmund in a crucial match on Saturday.