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LOS ANGELES - Another member of the LA Galaxy has headed to Europe.
Irish forward Robbie Keane, who joined the Galaxy in August and scored one goal in three games in the CONCACAF Champions League, has been loaned to Aston Villa of the English Premier League, the Galaxy said Thursday on its website.
He could play in as many as eight games before returning for the Champions League quarterfinals, the Galaxy said.
Keane becomes the second Galaxy player to head to England on a short loan, following Landon Donovan who returned to Everton for the second time in three seasons.
The Galaxy also had sent center back Omar Gonzalez to FC Nuremberg, a club with which he trained one day last week before injuring his knee and possibly being lost for most of the Major League Soccer season.
Keane, who could play for Villa as early as Saturday against Donovan when his club hosts Everton, also is scheduled to play in a friendly for Ireland against the Czech Republic in Dublin on February 28 before returning to the Galaxy.
The Galaxy will face Toronto FC on March 7 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto for the first leg of the quarterfinals and then return to Los Angeles for the second leg March 14.
The move was the latest transaction involving a team still in contention for the Champions League title.
On Wednesday, the Seattle Sounders announced they had acquired Danish midfielder Christian Sivebaek from Denmark's FC Midtjylland.
The 23-year-old Sivebaek has played for Midtjylland since 2006. He has appeared in 80 league matches and scored six goals. Sivebaek has represented Denmark on various teams levels 19 times, scoring twice.
Seattle faces Santos Laguna in their quarterfinal series, hosting the first leg March 7 and travelling to Mexico for the second on March 14.
