Barcelona's Puyol sidelined for 2 months for dislocated elbow

MADRID (REUTERS) - Carles Puyol's dislocated elbow will keep him out of action for about two months and means Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova faces another unwelcome defensive conundrum for Sunday's La Liga "El Clasico" at home to Real Madrid.

In his first game back after a knee injury, Puyol landed heavily in the second half of yesterday's 2-0 Champions League Group G victory at Benfica, and the La Liga club said today he would be sidelined for about eight weeks.

The 34-year-old, whose regular central defensive partner Gerard Pique has not played since hurting his foot two weeks ago, was taken to hospital for checks before flying back to the Catalan capital.

Barcelona will sorely miss his experience on Sunday and if Pique does not recover in time, Vilanova may again be forced to deploy new signing Alex Song alongside fellow converted midfielder Javier Mascherano in central defence.