Lucescu discharged from hospital

Shakhtar Donetsk’s Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu was released from a Bucharest hospital yesterday, more than two weeks after he was injured in a car accident there. 

Lucescu, 66, was rushed to hospital for surgery after breaking several ribs and suffering a concussion in the crash. 

“There wasn’t such a big interest in me, even when I won the Europa League,” Lucescu was quoted by Romanian sports news site www.sport.ro as saying after his release. 

“I thank the Romanian doctors. I want to get back to my team, to football as soon as possible. Will I be driving again? Why not?” 

Lucescu has coached Ukraine champions Shakhtar since 2004, leading them to five domestic league titles, three Ukrainian Cups and the UEFA Cup in 2009. 

The Romanian coach is a popular figure in Turkey as well, since he enjoyed two Super League titles with Galatasaray in 2002 and Beşiktaş in 2003. 

He was also at the helm when Galatasaray won the European Super Cup in 2000 and became the first Turkish team to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals the following year.