Hanover's Diouf out for rest of season

**Admin** Thu Apr 19, 2012 1:04 am

Brief news ahead of this weekend's Bundesliga soccer matches (times GMT):

* Hanover 96 striker Mame Biram Diouf has been ruled out for the final
four league games of the season with an ankle ligament injury picked up
in their 2-0 win over VfL Wolfsburg on Wednesday, the club said.

The Senegal international, who joined in the winter from Manchester
United, has established himself as the number one striker after scoring
six league goals and four more in the Europa League.

Hanover, in seventh place on 44 points, are battling for a spot in next season's Europa League again.

* Hamburg SV, who take on Hanover on Saturday (1330), will be playing
with their backs to the wall to avoid relegation, Hamburg coach Thorsten
Fink warned.

Hamburg are the only top-flight team to have played in the Bundesliga every season since its creation in 1963.

"On Saturday everyone in the stadium, including Hanover, must see a
team that is battling against relegation," Fink told reporters. "We will
not stop working."

Hamburg were crushed 4-0 by Hoffenheim on Wednesday to remain on 31
points in 14th place, just two points above the relegation playoff spot.

* Cologne defender Andrezinho will be out of action for an estimated
six months after undergoing surgery this week for a cruciate ligament
tear, the club said.

The 30-year-old Brazilian, who will miss the final four league games as
Cologne battle to stave off relegation, was injured during training
earlier this month.

Cologne, in the relegation playoff spot in 16th place, travel to fourth-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach on Sunday (1330).

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