Uğur Boral faces Fenerbahçe lay-off

The left-sided Uğur Boral will miss the remainder of the season for Fenerbahçe SK after the 27-year-old defender and midfielder sustained a cruciate injury in his side's 3-0 Turkish Cup win against Bursaspor on Thursday.

Uğur Boral has made just five Süper Lig appearances this season, but has been a regular for cup games and also played in two of Fenerbahçe's UEFA Europa League group stage ties, and may well have been a candidate for a place in their round of 32 fixture against LOSC Lille Métropole, which kicks off in France on 18 February.

Fenerbahçe won the quarter-final first leg tie comfortably, with goals from André Santos, Diego Lugano and Semih Şentürk but Istanbul rivals Galatasaray AŞ did not fare so well on Wednesday night as they lost 2-1 to Antalyaspor AŞ in the same competition, Necati Ateş scoring the first-half winner.

The club were also rocked as on loan Brazilian striker Jô sprained an ankle, an injury that will keep him out of action for at least three weeks. The 22-year-old was signed on loan from Manchester City FC as cover for injured Czech forward Milan Baroš. Jô is not eligible to play in Galatasaray's UEFA Europa League round of 32 tie against Club Atlético de Madrid after playing in the group stage for Everton.