Villas-Boas takes complaints to ref chief

Andre Villas-Boas has revealed he had complained to referees' chief Mike Riley about the performance of the officials in Chelsea's Barclays Premier League defeat at Manchester United.

Villas-Boas was still smarting on Tuesday afternoon by the manner of what was his first loss in charge of the Blues and his first defeat in a league game for 17 months.

Chelsea fell 2-0 behind at Old Trafford on Sunday to goals which replays showed should not have stood as both scorers had been offside, with United eventually running out 3-1 winners.

Villas-Boas said: "Very, very unhappy with a poor performance from the referees, which in the end had a decisive role in the result, and I don't take it very, very lightly.

"You expect the linesman to do his job. I already went further ahead with the situation by speaking to the correct people.

"We all feel very, very down when the referee had such an impact on the result."

Rib fracture sidelines Daniel Agger

Liverpool defender Daniel Agger could be out for up to four weeks after fracturing a rib in Sunday's 4-0 Barclays Premier League defeat at Tottenham.

The Denmark international sustained the injury when he fell heavily in the first half and had to be substituted before half-time.

However, there are contrasting reports on the extent of the injury.

"Daniel has got a fractured rib, so he's struggling a bit," manager Kenny Dalglish told liverpoolfc.tv.

However, the version offered by Agger's agent Per Steffensen differs slightly.

"It's the worst possible news. He has broken two ribs, and Must keep still for four weeks," Steffensen told sporten.tv2.dk.

Gilardino suffers knee blow

Fiorentina striker Alberto Gilardino has been ruled out for up to six weeks with a knee injury, his club confirmed.

The Italy international collided with Udinese goalkeeper Samir Handanovic during La Viola's 2-0 defeat at the weekend, appearing to twist his left knee.

His club confirmed an injury which, while likely to keep him out until early November, is not as serious as initially feared.

"Fiorentina announced that the diagnostic tests have shown a tibial plateau microfracture associated with a stress on the joint capsule and medial collateral ligament of the knee," the club said.
"The prognosis for return to competition is five to six weeks."