体坛英语新闻：Injury setbacks for Athletic Club and Valencia

MADRID, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- Both Athletic Club Bilbao and Valencia have suffered serious injury blows as a result of their 1-1 draw in Valencia' s Mestalla Stadium on Sunday night.

Valencia have confirmed that Spain Under-21 international midfielder Sergio Canales will be out of action for between three and six months after suffering a partial tear of his cruciate ligament in his right knee.

Canales, who joined Valencia on loan from Real Madrid over the summer, will undergo further tests to discover the exact extent of his injury, but there is a chance he could miss the entire season.

Athletic Club' s Carlos Gurpegui will be out for the rest of the campaign after the Basque club confirmed he has torn the cruciate ligament in his right knee.

The midfielder had only been on the pitch for 10 minutes when he damaged his knee in an unfortunate fall that saw him twist the articulation. The 31-year-old will undergo an operation and will be sidelined for between six and seven months.

Athletic are meanwhile waiting to see if striker Fernando Llorente will be fit to play against Atletico Madrid on Thursday.

The Spain international was forced out of Sunday' s game at halftime after suffering tendonitis in his right knee and was replaced by Gaizka Toquero.