Lyon dealt double injury blow

Olympique Lyonnais will be without two key players for their UEFA Champions League Group E match against FC Dynamo Kyiv next week after Grégory Coupet and Patrick Müller were ruled out with injuries.

Double blow
Centre-back Müller, 29, dislocated his shoulder during Switzerland's 2-1 friendly defeat by Austria in Innsbruck on Wednesday evening while France's No1 sustained a hand injury at his home this afternoon. "Grégory Coupet hurt his right index and middle fingers by accident and will be out for ten days," said Lyon's club medic Jean-Jacques Amprino. "He had two slashes down his fingers which required six stitches. He will not be able to touch a ball before it's completely healed." Müller, meanwhile, will be sidelined for three weeks according to Amprino. "It's a total dislocation," he confirmed.

Vercoutre reward
Both players have featured in Lyon's two UEFA Champions League games this season - wins against Real Madrid CF and FC Steaua Bucuresti - and will be missed for Tuesday's trip to Ukraine. Rémy Vercoutre, who recently signed a contract extension, will replace the 33-year-old Coupet between the posts in Kiev and will also start Saturday's local derby with AS Saint-Etienne as well as the top-of-the-table encounter a week later at second-placed Olympique de Marseille. Sébastien Squillaci should step in for the stricken Müller.