Madrid - Valencia will be without central defender Alexis for up to four months, the Spanish club announced on Tuesday night.

Madrid  - Spanish former golfer Severiano Ballesteros was released from hospital Tuesday, after two months of inpatient treatment for a brain tumour.

"Ballesteros will continue to receive outpatient treatment from the Medical Oncology and Oncological Radiotherapy services," La Paz hospital in Madrid said in a statement.

The former golfer, 51, collapsed on October 6 at the Madrid airport and was subsequently diagnosed with a brain tumour. He was first operated on eight days later and has undergone surgery a total of four times.

Madrid - Real Madrid are set to dismiss coach Bernd Schuster on Tuesday

Paris/Madrid - French police have arrested the suspected new head of the military wing of the Basque terrorist organization ETA only three weeks after capturing his predecessor, the French and Spanish interior ministries announced on Monday.

Aitzol Irionda Yarza, also known as Gurbita or Asier, and two alleged accomplices were taken into custody in the Pyrenean town of Bagneres-de-Bigorre, some 50 kilometres from Cautarets, where French police arrested ETA chief Mikel Garikoitz Aspiazu, alias Txeroki, on November 17.

Madrid  - Spanish champions Real Madrid announced on Monday evening that Mahamadou Diarra will be out of action for between six and nine months.

The Mali midfielder was operated on in Madrid on Monday morning, for a complicated break in the external cartliage of his right knee, an injury he originally sustained playing for Mali against Chad in October.

Diarra, 27, is Real's second lon-term knee injury victim, after Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

The club's other absentees at the moment are Pepe, Gabriel Heinze, Ruben de la Red and Wesley Sneijder.

Madrid - Spanish giants Atletico Madrid announced on Monday that they would travel to Marseille, for Tuesday's Champions League clash against Olympique just hours ahead of the kickoff.

Like most European teams, Atletico normally travel the day before the game, in order to get used to the city, the stadium and the weather.

This time, however, Atletico have decided to fly later because of serious security concerns.

Atletico have received several threats from Marseille "ultras", because of the sentence handed out on Friday by a Madrid court to OM fan Santos Mirasierra.