Injured Lingor denied swansong

Germany playmaker Renate Lingor is out of 1. FFC Frankfurt's UEFA Women's Cup final against Umeå IK next month after fracturing her right shoulder, an injury that could signal the end of her distinguished career.

Six-week absence
The 32-year-old was injured 72 minutes into Frankfurt's 5-1 German Cup final win against 1. FC Saarbrücken at Berlin's Olympiastadion on Saturday and will undergo surgery on Thursday. However, Lingor is not expected to return to training for at least six weeks, ruling her out of both legs of the decider against Umeå on 17 and 24 May as well as Germany's UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2009™ qualifiers against Belgium and Wales in which they could clinch a place in the finals.

Retirement
On top of that, Lingor revealed that this is to be her last season as a player. "This decision was made a while ago, I just did not want to make it public," she said. "It was not an easy season for me; I picked up an injury right after the [FIFA Women's] World Cup, had a tough time at the club, where they did not always pick me – it was frustrating. Actually, this is the most catastrophic season you can imagine for a player on her farewell."

Olympic dream
Lingor, who has won two UEFA Women's Cups and five league titles in eleven seasons at Frankfurt, has scored 19 goals in 93 appearances for Germany, claiming victory in the last two World Cups and UEFA European Women's Championships as well as a pair of Olympic bronze medals. She hopes to aim for gold to end her career in China in August, but admitted that coach Silvia Neid has told her she would need to be fully fit. Lingor added: "There are many people supporting me – I have got many calls. We will find the right treatment for me to make it in time, but it will be hard work. I don't just want to be there, I want to have my best tournament ever!"