US defender Oguchi Onyewu goes Dutch

Eredivisie champions FC Twente have completed the signing of United States international defender Oguchi Onyewu on loan from AC Milan.

The 28-year-old centre-back joins the Enschede outfit until the end of the season having found first-team opportunities scarce in Italy.

Onyewu, who was part of the USA's World Cup squad, has previously played in France, Belgium and England, joining Milan from Standard Liege in 2009.

Meanwhile, the Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain is set to be out for three to four months, according to the doctor who operated on the Argentina international's back problem.

Higuain, 23, has been sidelined since November with a herniated disc and he went under the knife yesterday at the Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, United States.

Dr Richard Fessler, who performed the surgery, was quoted as saying by the Spanish press: "The operation went very well. I have no doubt that in between two and four weeks he will be able to run without problems, then in a period of 10 weeks after the operation he will be able to take part with the rest of his teams in all types of work.

"If everything goes well, in three months he could be playing competitively, although it's also possible it could be four."