Latest headlines:

• Kimmich injury concern
• Rummenigge's secret meeting
• Löw names squad for three matches in November
• Werder Bremen won't release players due to COVID-19

November 8

Kimmich injury concern

Joshua Kimmich's attempt to stop Erling Haaland yesterday ended in injury for the Germany midfielder. Initial reports suggest Kimmich has not suffered a cruciate ligament tear, but German sports magazine kicker are reporting that the 25-year-old has suffered a meniscus tear in his right knee, an injury that might require surgery and would see Kimmich likely out for the rest of the year.

There is no official word yet from Bayern Munich yet, although confirmation of Kimmich's diagnosis and treatment is expected soon.

Rummenigge invites top German clubs to secret meeting 

Bayern Munich chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has invited 14 Bundesliga clubs, plus second-division leaders Hamburg, to a meeting at an unknown location in Frankfurt next Wednesday, according to German media. On the agenda: the distribution of television money from 2021/22 onwards, DFL boss Christian Seifert's successor and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Augsburg, Bielefeld, Mainz and Stuttgart are reportedly not invited, four clubs which signed a proposal in October to distribute 80 percent of domestic and international media revenue to the entire Bundesliga and second division.

November 6

Löw calls up defenders Max, Uduokhai 

Germany head coach Joachim Löw has named his squad for this month's friendly against the Czech Republic and the Nations League contests against Ukraine and Spain. 

Getting their first call-ups to the national team are defenders Philipp Max of Eindhoven and Felix Uduokhai of Augsburg.  

Bayern Munich defender Niklas Süle and Kai Havertz of Chelsea weren't available due to recent positive tests for COVID-19. Returning to the squad are Thilo Keher of Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City's Ilkay Gündogan and Bayern forward Leroy Sane.  

November 5

Bremen won't allow players to join national teams in coronavirus risk areas

Werder Bremen won't release their players to travel abroad during the upcoming international break due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Bundesliga club said on Thursday, confirming a report by German football magazine Kicker.  

"It wasn't an easy decision, we know how important the national team is for a player," sporting director Frank Baumann said. "We hope that it will be possible to release the players during the next international break."  

The decision comes because Bremen health authorities insist on a precautionary five-day quarantine for players returning from international risk areas. 

Bremen were the first to announce that they wouldn't release their players to their national teams traveling to COVID-19 risk areas, but they aren't alone. Arminia Bielefeld have since announced that they will follow suit, while Hertha Berlin and Stuttgart have said they won't send theirs either if it means they have to go into quarantine when they return. Both are awaiting directives from their local health authorities in the next few days. 

Under a temporary FIFA rule change, clubs are not required to release their players to represent their countries if it would involve a mandatory period of self-isolation when they return. 

November 4

Havertz tests positive for COVID-19

Chelsea and Germany midfielder Kai Havertz has tested positive for the coronavirus and has gone into self-isolation, according to a statement on the Premier League club's website.

The news came after Havertz was not included in Chelsea's Champions League squad this week.

Diego Maradona has brain surgery

Argentine football great Diego Maradona has undergone brain surgery for a blood clot in a private clinic in Buenos Aires. 

"We managed to successfully remove the clot. Diego coped well with the surgery," Maradona's personal physician, Leopoldo Luque, said.

The operation was conducted a day after the football legend had been admitted to a hospital suffering from anemia — a lack of iron in his system — and dehydration. A series of tests was conducted and a scan revealed the blood clot. 

Groups of fans congregated outside the clinic with banners showing Maradona's face and the words "Come on, Diego!" 

During his prime the now 60-year-old Maradona was regarded as one of the greatest football players ever to play the game, and in 1986 he led Argentina to a World Cup title. 

Coronavirus forces postponement of Japan's League Cup final

The coronavirus has forced the final of Japan's Levain Cup, also known as the League Cup, to be postponed. The match had been set to take place at a sold-out crowd of 24,000 at Tokyo's National Stadium on Saturday.

The J.League said in a statement that the decision came after Kashiwa Reysol had reported 13 positive tests among their players and team staff ahead of the final against FC Tokyo. 

The J.League has not said when the match will now be played, with the league's chairman, Mitsuru Murai, saying that the chances of holding the fixture in 2021 was "not zero." 

 "We know that a lot of fans were looking forward to this match…. We will work with the two clubs to determine a new date," Murai said at a virtual news conference. 

The National Stadium was built for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which have now been postponed until next year because of the pandemic.  

Coronavirus deals major financial blow to German athletes

Germany's top athletes have lost around €6 million (($10.2 million) in income in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a study by the German Sports University in Cologne. 

The monthly income of the current 466 members of Olympic and Paralympic squads will go down by 25% to €1,287 euros, the study found. 

"Our results show the extensive effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the financial situation of Germany's top athletes," study director Christoph Breuer said. "The losses are particularly dramatic for athletes taking part in Olympic and Paralympic Games." 

It said Olympic and Paralympic athletes could expect an average additional income drop of €600 per month in 2021. 

November 3

Hoffenheim, Union Berlin condemn racism toward Ryan Sessegnon

Hoffenheim defender Ryan Sessegnon voiced his disgust toward vulgar messages he received on social media.

"Honestly unbelievable. The crazy thing is that I'm not even surprised anymore. Disgusting," the 20-year-old wrote on Instagram sharing the messages.

Hoffenheim, who acquired Sessegnon on loan from Tottenham last month, also condemned the messages.

"#TSG stands for tolerance, integration and respect. We reject all forms of racism, discrimination and exclusion and say #NoToRacism!" the club said in a Tweet.

Tottenham also came out in support of the English defender.

Ryan Giggs won't coach Wales' next three games after arrest

Wales coach Ryan Giggs will "not be involved" in the country's next three games amid allegations of assault, the Football Association of Wales (FAW) said.

Robert Page will assume the role for Wales' Nations League matches against Ireland and Finland this month.

British media reported that Giggs, 46, was temporarily arrested on Sunday before being released on bail. The Sun newspaper reported that police were called to the former Manchester United winger's house after receiving reports of a disturbance.

Giggs' representatives told the BBC that he :"denies all allegations made against him and is co-operating with the police."

Diego Maradona admitted to hospital

Diego Maradona's doctor has said that the Argentine football legend was anemic and dehydrated but is recovering well in hospital. Dr. Leopoldo Luque said Maradona was still undergoing tests after he was admitted to a private clinic in La Plata, 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Buenos Aires on Monday.  

"He is evolving as we wanted. I hope he will want to stay until tomorrow," Luque told reporters. "He will have to do long-term treatment." 

Luque also denied that Maradona had contracted COVID-19. Hoever he said that the former football star was "not well psychologically," and that this had impacted his physical health.   

Maradona, who won the World Cup with Argentina in 1986 and is widely considered to be one of the greatest players of all time, coaches La Plata club Gimnasia y Esgrima. 

He last appeared in public last Friday, his 60th birthday. 

November 2

Schalke fined for fan abuse of Dortmund's Moukoko

Germany's football association (DFB) fined Schalke €6,000 ($7,000) after the club's fans racially abused and threatened Borussia Dortmund 15-year-old Youssoufa Moukoko during a youth game.

DFB judge Torsten Becker said the "inhuman insults and threats of violence'' aimed at Moukoko were found to bear a discriminatory and racist intent.

The DFB also said that Schalke needs to improve security at youth matches and draw up a plan to prevent such incidents. It said the club could use €2,000 of the fine on anti-racism and anti-discriminatory measures.

Schalke has already apologized for the fan abuse of Moukoko, a highly touted Dortmund youth prospect.

Niklas Süle, Schalke player test positive for COVID-19

Bayern Munich announced that defender Niklas Süle is undergoing quarantine at home after testing positive for COVID-19.

Süle, 25, is the second Bayern Munich player in less than a month to test positive for the coronavirus. Serge Gnabry spent a week and a half in quarantine after testing positive for the disease in October.

Schalke also revealed that a player test positive for the new coronavirus ahead of their German Cup first round tie with fourth-tier Bavarian side Schweinfurt. 

The club did not reveal the name of the player who tested positive.

Schalke is set to take on Schweinfurt in the German Cup after the game was indefinitely postponed.

Turkgucu Munich successfully challenged Schweinfurt's participation in the competition, claiming they, as the team promoted from Bavaria's fourth-tier regional league to the third division, should have qualified instead. But an arbitration court in Nuremberg overturned the initial ruling, allowing Schweinfurt to face Schalke.

Gerd Müller towards the end of his life, wife says

Uschi Müller, the wife of legendary Bayern Munich and West Germany striker Gerd Müller, said he is "sleeping towards his end" in his suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

"He was always a fighter, always brave, throughout his life, and he is now. Gerd is sleeping towards his end," Uschi Müller said in an interview with the German daily Bild, which was published on the eve of his 75th birthday

Müller currently resides in a nursing home and is visited there daily by his wife. Uschi Müller said she will try to talk to him "with slow and clear words" and watch TV with him on his birthday.

Tenderly nicknamed the "Bomber of the country," Müllers scored 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga matches. He still holds the single-season record for goals with 40. He also scored 68 goals in 62 caps with West Germany, winning European Championship in 1972 and the World Cup in 1974.

Bayern Munich withdraws contract offer to David Alaba

Negotiations between Bayern Munich and star defender David Alaba have apparently broken down, with club president Herbert Hainer confirming it has withdrawn its latest offer.

"We have decided to completely take the offer off the table. That means there is no longer an offer," Hainer told local broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk. He added that "we appreciate him a lot" and would "regret it if we had to go separate ways after the season."

Alaba, 28, is out of contract at the end of the current season. He and his agent, Pinhas Zahavi, reportedly rejected a third extension offer last week.