Lyon lose Cris for six months

Olympique Lyonnais are likely to be without captain Cris until February after the centre-back tore ligaments in his right knee in the 1-0 defeat by Toulouse FC on Saturday.

First defeat
The 30-year-old Brazilian international, who has won the title in each of his three campaigns at Lyon, was carried off after an hour and a scan today confirmed that the cruciate and lateral ligaments in his right knee had ruptured. The news compounds a miserable three days for the French champions who had Kim Källström sent off during Saturday's reverse, their first of the season.

Coupet blow
It is the second serious knee injury a Lyon player has suffered this term – goalkeeper Grégory Coupet was ruled out until December after tearing ligaments at the start of the month. Coupet was operated on last week by Dr Bernard Moyen, who will now perform surgery on Cris in the next few days. Lyon play FC Lorient on Saturday.