Messi out for up to eight weeks

Barcelona's Argentina forward Lionel Messi will be out for between six and eight weeks with a hamstring injury and their Spain playmaker Cesc Fabregas has been sidelined for seven days with knee trouble, the La Liga leaders said on Monday.

Messi suffered a muscle tear in his left hamstring and Fabregas sustained ligament damage to his right knee during Barca's 4-1 La Liga win at Real Betis on Sunday, Barca said in a statement on their website (www.fcbarcelona.es).

The double blow to the Spanish champions is perhaps not as serious as it might first appear as Messi will likely return before Barca face title rivals Atletico Madrid in January and they have already qualified for the Champions League last 16.

In Brazil forward Neymar, signed from Santos in the close season, they also have a player with a similar ability to turn a game with a breathtaking piece of skill.

Fabregas, who struck twice and set up Neymar to score against Betis before being replaced late on, should be back in action when his teammates return from the international break to face Granada at the Nou Camp on November 23.

Messi will miss Argentina's friendlies against Ecuador on November 15 and Bosnia on November 18, while Fabregas has pulled out of Spain's friendlies against Equatorial Guinea and South Africa on November 16 and November 19 respectively.

The former Arsenal captain has been replaced in the world and European champions' squad by Barca teammate Marc Bartra, a central defender, the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) said.

Messi was substituted in the 19th minute in Seville on Sunday after pulling up following a sprint for possession and a tangle with his markers. It was the World Player of the Year's 16th game of the season, in which he has scored 14 goals in all competitions.

It was the third thigh injury of the campaign for a player renowned under former Barca coach Pep Guardiola for his ability to avoid injury, despite being the focal point of the club's famed tiki-taka, one-touch football.

Barca said the first stage of Messi's recovery would be in the Catalan city before he travelled to Buenos Aires.

The 26-year-old will miss the final two matches in the Champions League group stage, against Ajax Amsterdam and Celtic.

He will also be unavailable for La Liga games against Granada, Athletic Bilbao, Villarreal and Getafe and the two-legged King's Cup tie against Cartagena but could return in time for the La Liga clash at Atletico the weekend of January11/12.

Barca top the standings by three points from Atletico and six from arch-rivals Real Madrid in third.

Costa out of Bafana tie, Llorente back

Atletico Madrid's Brazil-born forward Diego Costa has withdrawn from the Spain squad for their friendlies against Equatorial Guinea and South Africa after tearing a muscle in his right leg in La Liga action on Sunday.

Costa, who was substituted in the 83rd minute of Atletico's 1-1 draw at Villarreal, has been replaced by Juventus striker Fernando Llorente, the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) said on the world and European champions' website (www.sefutbol.com).

Costa was the subject of a tug-of-war between Brazil and Spain before he signed a formal letter last month stating his wish to play for his adopted country and was called up for the first time by coach Vicente del Bosque.

He has dual Spanish and Brazilian nationality and is second on the La Liga scoring chart this season with 13 goals, three behind Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo.

Costa represented Brazil in friendlies against Russia and Italy in March but was left out of the squad for June's Confederations Cup and is not tied to one country until he has played in an official competitive game.

He was the fifth Brazilian-born player to be selected for Spain following Heraldo Becerra, Catanha, Donato and most recently Marcos Senna.

Spain play Equatorial Guinea in the West African nation's capital Malabo on November 16 and take on South Africa three days later at Soccer City in Johannesburg, scene of their maiden World Cup triumph in 2010

Messi to have tests on his injury

Argentina's Lionel Messi picked up a hamstring injury and Spain's Cesc Fabregas a knee complaint in Barcelona's 4-1 La Liga win at Real Betis on Sunday.

World Player of the Year Messi called for a substitution in the first half after tumbling in a challenge, and was replaced by Andres Iniesta in the 21st minute.

Messi has damaged the hamstring in his left leg and will undergo further tests on Monday, the champions said in a statement on their official Twitter feed.

"Messi's injury isn't in the same leg as in the previous cases," Barca coach Gerardo Martino told a news conference.

"We need to let the medics look at it for a proper analysis.

The Argentina international has suffered a string of muscle problems at the start of this campaign and has struggled to reach his best form to date.

He has been called up by Argentina for international friendlies against Ecuador and Bosnia in the United States over the next two weeks.

Fabregas, who set up the opener for Neymar and scored twice in the second half, was substituted late on and is to have tests on a sore ligament in his right knee, the club said.

"I had a problem with it during the week and it felt sore as the game went on," Fabregas told Spanish broadcaster Canal Plus.

"I preferred to be cautious because I suffered a serious knee injury a few years ago."

The former Arsenal captain has also been called up for international duty with world and European champions Spain for friendlies away to Equatorial Guinea and South Africa.

Man United join title party

By reining in Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table, Manchester United made it clear that they are determined to have a say in this season's title race.

Amid the cut and thrust of the season's formative weeks, the reigning champions had been conspicuous by their absence from the table's upper reaches.

Defeats by Liverpool, West Bromwich Albion and Manchester City – the latter a crushing 4-1 loss – left David Moyes's side unable to join in with the jostling for position at the summit.

Arsenal have been the season's stand-out team, with Liverpool and Southampton close behind, but United's sluggish start obliged them to toil in relative obscurity while plaudits were sprinkled on the sides above them.

They have found renewed resolve in recent weeks, avoiding defeat since that stunning reverse at home to West Brom on September 28, but they needed to beat a fellow title contender to prove that reports of their demise had been exaggerated.

Sunday's victory over Arsenal provided exactly that and although Arsene Wenger's side never truly threatened David de Gea's goal at Old Trafford, United were on a tightrope throughout.

Defeat would have left them 11 points off the pace. Instead, victory cut Arsenal's lead over them to just five points, and catapulted Moyes's side back into the top five for the first time since a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace in mid-September.

"We knew we could not afford to lose," said Wayne Rooney. "We couldn't let Arsenal get 11 points away from us."

Moyes claimed that United did not need to make a statement, but after Chelsea's 2-2 draw with West Brom and defeats for both City and Tottenham Hotspur, failure to make ground would have been a huge missed opportunity.

Aside from a trip to Spurs on December 1, United will not face one of their title rivals before the end of the year.

The challenge they now face is to assemble the kind of long winning sequences that are the hallmark of title-winning teams.

They will draw great encouragement from the performances of Rooney and Robin van Persie against Arsenal, which suggested that United have no reason to envy any other strike partnership in the league.

Van Persie's sureness of touch gave United an attacking launchpad throughout the match and Rooney capped a display of breathless endeavour by teeing up the Dutchman for the game's only goal.

The pair now have 17 goals between them in all competitions, while Shinji Kagawa is beginning to demonstrate that he can summon the necessary levels of industry to make an impact in the Premier League.

The emergence of 18-year-old winger Adnan Januzaj has been another plus in attack, even if United have scored 10 fewer league goals than Manuel Pellegrini's entertainers at City.

There is room for improvement at the other end of the pitch, however, despite a disciplined counter-attacking display against Arsenal.

United have only kept three clean sheets in the league, with Moyes's attempts to build the sort of settled defensive unit from which he benefited at Everton hampered by successive injuries to stalwarts Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

Phil Jones's commanding display against Arsenal suggested that he may represent a long-term solution at centre-back, but the inauguration of a new back four will involve a degree of trial and error.

Moyes was keen to underline that his side still have "a few big steps to take" and the season's tumultuous early weeks suggest he is right to exercise caution.

It will be a while before United's fans fully recover from the shock of the hiding at City or the abject loss to West Brom, but victory over a buoyant Arsenal – coupled with the ongoing state of flux at the top of the table – gives them hope that a title challenge is taking shape.

Giroud Arsenal's best link player

Olivier Giroud may not score 30 league goals in a season for Arsenal as Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie both did. He had an off-day in Arsenal's 1-0 loss on Sunday at Manchester United. But Giroud is proving to be Arsenal's best link player since Dennis Bergkamp and will be vital for France in World Cup playoffs this week and next.

Arsenal tops the Premier League and Champions League Group F in no small part because Giroud, like Bergkamp, lifts the play of the whole team and gives Arsenal options. When he struggles, so does Arsenal. With Giroud losing balls and misdirecting passes, Arsenal fell short against United at Old Trafford.

Bergkamp had more pure talent than Giroud. But like the Dutch star, Giroud picks out teammates with graceful flicks, holds the ball up front to give Arsenal's slick midfield time to push forward at speed and scores goals on his own. His 16 goals in 45 league games for the Gunners isn't great but he sets up almost as many as he scores. Whether dropping deep, drifting wide or staying in a more central position, Giroud is easy for teammates to find.

He will also play a key role in France's World Cup playoff games against Ukraine this Friday and next week. Supplanting Karim Benzema, who tends to drift about, making him harder for teammates to link up with, Giroud gives France's attack more of a central focal point.

The 27-year-old Giroud was playing in the French second division four seasons ago. Coach Arsene Wenger took a risk signing him from the relative obscurity of Montpellier in 2012. At Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, whispers of "Olivier who?" could be heard from fans desperate for the club to win its first trophy since the 2005 FA Cup.

Giroud has proved throughout his career that he improves significantly in his second season at a club.

In his first season with Tours, he scored nine league goals, then he got 21; with Montpellier he scored 12 and then 21. Last season, Giroud averaged one goal every three games for Arsenal. This term he has one in two and is on pace to get around 18.

Giroud is a deft passer - demonstrated when he and Jack Wilshere combined to split the Norwich defense with Arsenal's opening goal in a 4-1 win at the Emirates on October 19. Pundits purred about their one-touch passing that would have made master of the art Barcelona proud. Giroud back-heeled the ball to Wilshere, who returned it to Giroud with a flick of his foot. Giroud then nudged the ball back to Wilshere, who volleyed in, all in a couple of seconds.

Giroud's height also gives Arsenal the option of playing long balls instead of too often trying to pass the ball into the net. He is Arsenal's best header of a ball since striker Alan Smith in the 1990s. In a 1-0 win at Borussia Dortmund on November 6, Giroud seemed to hang in the air before nodding Mesut Ozil's looping cross into the path of Aaron Ramsey, who headed in the winner.

Fans who questioned his abilities and Wenger's failure not to recruit a more typical striker are now willing to look beyond Giroud's goal tally. They sing Giroud's praises to the tune of "Hey Jude" by the Beatles.

Another measure of Giroud's success is that Theo Walcott is no longer talked about as a potential centre-forward for Arsenal. Walcott is clearly better on the wing, where his speed hurts opponents and where his weaknesses - an inability to play back to goal, limited holdup play and lack of awareness about the positioning of teammates - aren't so telling. Not since Bergkamp retired in 2006 has Arsenal fielded a forward so effective all-around as Giroud.

The only big worry with Giroud is that he might get injured, especially since Wenger is so reliant on him. Wenger tried but failed to sign another forward this past summer. That leaves the under-whelming Nicklas Bendtner as Giroud's only backup. A frightening thought.

United skipper Vidic out of hospital

Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic has been released from hospital after suffering concussion during Sunday's Premier League win over Arsenal, a club statement said Monday.

Vidic left the field shortly before halftime at Old Trafford following an accidental clash with United goalkeeper David de Gea.

The Serbia central defender, clearly dazed, was sent to hospital for an examination.

"Nemanja Vidic has been released from hospital after suffering concussion," a United statement issued Monday confirmed.

Vidic is not due to play again until November 24, when United visit Cardiff in the Premier League, although no timescale has been put on the 32-year-old's possible return to training.

In Vidic's absence, champions United completed a 1-0 win at home to Arsenal that saw them move to within five points of the Premier League leaders.

Charlton buoyed by United win

Manchester United great Bobby Charlton believes the champions' 1-0 win over Premier League leaders Arsenal is proof they will make a sustained title defence in manager David Moyes's first season in charge.

Last weekend's victory at Old Trafford left United just five points behind the Gunners on a weekend where title rivals Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur all dropped points.

United won just three of their first eight league games under former Everton boss Moyes, who moved into the United hotseat when Alex Ferguson retired after a trophy-laden 26-and-a-half years at the helm.

However, they have now gone nine games unbeaten in all competitions and Charlton, a key figure in Matt Busby's successful United sides of the 1950s and 1960s, is glad the club's latest Scottish manager is starting to silence his doubters.

"There was a little bit of criticism going on but I am pleased I didn't have to answer it because David has done it himself," Charlton told United Review.

"We are not the type of team who can languish in the bottom half of the league and it is promising to see us putting together some good results," the 1966 England World Cup-winner added.

"We have had a lot of publicity from changing manager after so long and I've had the sense that teams have maybe been upping their game a little bit against us. But we have been first-class recently," said Charlton, who played a key role in persuading the club to both sign and then retain Ferguson before he won the first trophy of his United reign, the 1990 FA Cup.

"Here we are, creeping up the table again and that is what we want," insisted Charlton, who after helping United become champions of England in 1967 played a key role as they became the first English club to win the European Cup the following year.

"I think we are still very much in the race to win the title," the 76-year-old added.

"We do have a tendency to start slowly and come good as the season wears on.

"I would have to agree with Sir Alex Ferguson's recent assertion that we are the only team in this league who can win the league title by coming back from a big deficit.