Puyol facing a three-month layoff

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BARCELONA, Spain -- Barcelona captain Carles Puyol is likely to miss the start of next season after tearing a ligament in his left knee during a post-season friendly against Mamelodi Sundowns in South Africa on Wednesday.

"Tests have confirmed that the player has torn the external lateral ligament in his left knee," the club said in a statement.

Medical staff said the 28-year-old defender, who came on as a substitute in the second half of the 2-1 win over the Sundowns, would undergo immediate surgery to repair the torn ligament.

Recovery time is expected to be about three months meaning the player is likely to miss pre-season training, the club's opening league matches and Spain's Euro 2008 qualifiers against Iceland and Latvia.

Givet off to Marseille

France defender Gael Givet is leaving Monaco to join Ligue 1 rivals Olympique Marseille, the team from the principality announced.

Monaco captain Givet, 25, will sign a four-year contract with Marseille after both clubs reached an agreement, a Monaco spokesman said.

The combative central defender has 12 caps for France.

Juan joins Roma

AS Roma have signed Brazil defender Juan from Bayer Leverkusen, the Serie A runners-up said.

Juan, currently preparing for the Copa America with Brazil, has cost 6.3 million euros ($8.44 million) and has signed a four-year contract.

As part of the deal, Roma will visit Leverkusen for a pre-season friendly on July 29.

The purchase of Juan will increase speculation about the future of Roma's Romanian centre back Cristian Chivu.

Inter Milan have been considering a bid but Roma said on Wednesday they were not in negotiations with the Italian champions.

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