SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain Real Sociedad's foreign signings have had an ill-starred start to their careers at the Basque club, with Arif Erdem the worst affected.
The former Galatasaray forward's ill-fortune began when his luggage was lost on his journey to Spain. He then had to make a rapid exit from his presentation because of gastroenteritis, and spent the next few days in hospital.
To cap it all, Erdem was injured in training on Friday and had to withdraw from the team's trip to Cologne.
Two of Real's other foreign signings, Belgian international midfielder Frederic Peiremans and Turkey's Tayfun Korkut, are also out of action through injury.
The club's most recent signing, French midfielder Stephane Collet, played only four matches for lens last season owing to a knee injury.
Real Coach Javier Clemente is, nevertheless, philosophical about the fate of his signings.
"When people say to me that a player has never been injured, then I get worried," he told reporters.
"Players get injured when they make an effort and sometimes just because of bad luck," the Basque coach concluded.
(Reuter)