Sporting Digest: Football

Fran Gonzalez, the Deportivo la Coruna captain, will miss the start of the Spanish League season next month because of a torn leg muscle. The 30-year-old midfielder will undergo surgery this week and will be out of action for up to two months, making him doubtful for two of Spain's three remaining European Championship Group six qualifiers.

The former Netherlands striker Glenn Helder yesterday signed a two-year contract with the Hungarian champions, MTK Budapest.

The Brazilian striker Elber has returned to training at the German League champions Bayern Munich after four months out with a serious knee injury.

Borussia Dortmund's Germany midfielder Andreas Moller could be unavailable for several weeks after injuring knee ligaments in a pre-season game. Dortmund play in the final round of Champions' League qualification on 10 and 24 August - either side of their opening German League fixture against Kaiserslautern on 14 August.