Stuttgart suffer 'bitter' Gómez loss

Conventional treatment
Gómez, 21, was substituted after 38 minutes following a challenge by Wolfsburg's Jonathan Santana and was subsequently diagnosed with ligament damage, which Stuttgart general manager Horst Heldt insisted would not be remedied with surgery. "Mario will not be operated on," said Heldt.

’Bitter blow’
The news will come as a huge setback to coach Armin Veh, whose star striker’s 13 goals in 23 league matches had made Gómez the leading Bundesliga scorer and helped Stuttgart to third place in the table. "This has hit me really hard and is a bitter blow for us all," said Veh, who also learned that 19-year-old central defender Serdar Tasci will be sidelined for two weeks after sustaining a thigh strain in the same match. Gómez, 21, will also miss Germany's forthcoming UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying match against the Czech Republic in Prague on 24 March.