Helguera suffers injury woe

Ivan Helguera could miss up to three months of the season after suffering a hairline fracture of his ankle against Inter Milan on Tuesday.

Club doctor Hernandez confirmed on Wednesday that Helguera has suffered a hairline fracture to his right ankle following a challenge by Inter's Dino Baggio in the Trofeo Bernabeu contest.

Hernandez told reporters: "We're going to wait until Thursday to see how Helguera is feeling and then we'll decide what kind of treatment to use. It's a fracture and the recovery time will be between two to three months."

The news could not have come at a worse time for Real coach Vicente Del Bosque, who now must find a way of re-working the side without the midfielder. One option would be to move either Albert Celades or Zinedine Zidane alongside Makelele to form the central partnership, while another candidate is Santiago Solari, who has been impressive during the pre-season - although the Argentine ace is naturally more of a wing player.