Unlucky Naysmith out for six weeks

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LONDON, England -- Everton and Scotland defender Gary Naysmith will be sidelined for six weeks with a knee injury, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.

Naysmith will miss Scotland's European Championship 2008 qualifiers next month against France and Ukraine.

He suffered the ligament injury to his left knee in the first half of Sunday's 1-1 draw at Newcastle United.

"Gary's scan has confirmed our clinical diagnosis that he has sustained a significant strain of his medial ligament and he is expected to be out for a minimum of six weeks," Everton head physio Mick Rathbone told the club's Web site.

Arsenal defender William Gallas is facing a fight to be fit to join the French squad for the ties in Scotland on October 7 and at home to the Faroe Islands four days later.

The French defender was forced off in injury time of the 2-0 home win against Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday with a hamstring problem.

Manager Arsene Wenger has ruled Gallas out of the weekend's Premiership match at Charlton and warned the injury may stretch into international week.

"Gallas has a hamstring problem," said Wenger. "It looked to me very serious. We hope it's not too bad, but for Saturday certainly he'll be short. [After that] I don't know, if he will be available for the French national team or not."

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