La Liga club Villarreal has been given Real Mallorca's place in this season's Europa League pending a Mallorca appeal. “Villarreal CF this afternoon received official notification from UEFA that certifies classification for the 2010/11 Europa League following the non-admission of Real Mallorca,” the club said on their website (www.villarrealcf.es) Saturday. Villarreal finished seventh in La Liga last season, two spots behind financially-troubled Mallorca, who were informed of their exclusion from European competition by UEFA Thursday. The governing body ruled the Balearic Islands club, which is in administration, had not fulfilled the admission criteria as the requisite licence had not been granted. Mallorca's lawyer, Luis Huerta, said in a statement Saturday (www.rcdmallorca.es) an appeal against UEFA's decision would be lodged Monday. Huerta noted that the club's exclusion from the Europa League would deprive them of revenue needed to pay off their creditors. Drogba undergoes surgery Chelsea striker Didier Drogba could miss the start of the season after groin surgery. The English club champion said on Saturday it expects Drogba to be fully recovered in three weeks following “minimally invasive surgery” Friday. Drogba scored 29 times last season despite being plagued by the injured groin, and the club said it waited until after the World Cup to try and fix the problem to “optimize” his rehab. However, he'll be racing to be fit in time for the Community Shield match on Aug. 8 against Manchester United, followed by the Premier League home opener against West Brom. Drogba broke his arm just before the World Cup while playing for Ivory Coast. Deschamps wants to help Blanc Marseille coach Didier Deschamps has pledged to give his full cooperation to France coach Laurent Blanc's efforts to rebuild the national team following its disastrous World Cup campaign. France went out in the group stage and former coach Raymond Domenech's controversial reign ended shamefully when his whole squad went on strike in protest at Nicolas Anelka's expulsion from the tournament following an expletive-filled rant at Domenech. Blanc's request to ban all the players that went on strike for his opening match against Norway in next month's friendly was upheld by the French Football Federation on Friday. Deschamps told sports daily L'Equipe on Saturday that the “relationship between club and country is fundamental.” Raul, Guti to leave Real Veteran Spanish internationals Raul and Guti will announce their departure from Real Madrid next week, Spanish media reported Saturday. Striker Raul will Monday announce that he is joining German side Schalke on a two-year contract while midfielder Guti will join Turkish side Besiktas, sports dailies AS and Marca reported. The two players, who are both 33, have spent their entire careers at Real Madrid but they were little used last season. New Real coach Jose Mourinho has indicated that he does not count on them for next season. Raul, who has played for Real since 1994, has “broken all records” at the club according to Marca, having won six La Liga championships and three Champions League titles during his time with the Spanish giants. He has scored 323 times in 740 appearances for the club. Guti, a product of Real's youth system who made his pro debut in 1995, said repeatedly over the last season that he would like to leave the Spanish club.
