New thigh blow floors Inter's Vieira
Friday, August 1, 2008
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Patrick Vieira is likely to miss the start of the new season with FC Internazionale Milano after suffering another thigh injury, ruling him out for at least a month.
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Further damage
The 32-year-old sat out the whole of France's UEFA EURO 2008™ campaign with a similar problem, with medical tests confirming that the midfielder had suffered further damage to his left thigh. Vieira is unlikely to play in the Italian Super Cup or the opening games of the Serie A season, though he should have recovered by the time the UEFA Champions League group stage kicks off in mid-September.
'Not giving up'
"This is a very unlucky period for me, but I am not giving up," said Vieira. "I'll do my best to return to my best form as soon as possible. Everything was going the right way in recent days and this is a huge blow for me, but I'm still optimistic for the future." The Italian champions are also awaiting further reports on Marco Materazzi as the 34-year-old defender picked up an identical injury during a friendly against Juventus on Tuesday.