Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola confirmed David Villa would be sidelined for a “long time” after the Spain striker broke his shinbone in today’s 4-0 Club World Cup semi-final victory over Al-Sadd.

Birmingham striker Mikael Forssell is hoping his future can be resolved before the end of the season.

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish will decide over the weekend whether to step up his bid to sign Manchester City striker Georgios Samaras.