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Elkin Soto puts pen to paper on Mainz contract

Mainz have extended the contract of their defender Elkin Soto, whose season is over after he seriously damaged his knee.

Soto, who has been with Mainz since 2007, needed surgery on anterior cruciate, medial ligament and meniscus tears after an unfortunate clash with Hamburg's Rafael van der Vaart in their recent Bundesliga match.

It is not certain the 34-year-old will ever be able to play again, but his club still offered him a new contract earlier this month and the Colombian defender has now put pen to paper, although no details over the length of the new deal have been revealed.

Soto's contract was due to expire in the summer, but he will instead remain with the club for at least another year.

Meanwhile, Mainz have dismissed reports that striker Shinji Okazaki will be sold to Leicester this summer.

"We have had absolutely no contact with Leicester," Mainz's general manager Christian Heidel told his club's official website.