Nadal’s season over with knee injury October 25, 2012 WORLD No4 Rafael Nadal has been forced to withdraw from the impending Paris Masters and London’s ATP World Tour Finals because of a long-term injury to his left knee. The Spaniard has yet to compete since his second-round defeat to Lukas Rosol at Wimbledon in June and has since missed both the Olympics and US [...]
Pietersen free to join England October 25, 2012 ■ CRICKET: Kevin Pietersen is to join England’s training camp in Dubai after his Delhi Daredevils side last night exited the T20 Champions League.
Cleverly title defence in doubt October 25, 2012 ■ BOXING: Nathan Cleverly’s WBO light-heavyweight title defence against Ryan Coyne could be off over Coyne’s legal dispute with promoter Don King.
Bould: Jaded Gunners hit by international break October 24, 2012 ARSENAL 0 vs SCHALKE 2 ARSENAL assistant manager Steve Bould blamed jadedness for his side’s alarming slump after Schalke condemned the Gunners to their first home group stage defeat in the Champions League since 2003. Dutch pair Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Ibrahim Afellay scored in the last 15 minutes to heap further misery on a side [...]
Lancaster looks to Vunipola and Youngs October 24, 2012 ENGLAND coach Stuart Lancaster is to turn to emerging forwards Mako Vunipola and Tom Youngs today when he names his 32-man squad for the autumn internationals as he seeks to cope with the losses of several significant players. In addition to the retirements of the peripheral Charlie Hodgson, Matt Stevens and Lee Mears, Lancaster is [...]
Pietersen welcomed back with open arms October 24, 2012 ENGLAND captain Alastair Cook insists batsman Kevin Pietersen has been welcomed back by the whole team and indicated he would return to the side for the first Test of their tour of India. Pietersen has been named in the 17-man squad set to depart for the subcontinent today, having apologised to England chiefs and coach [...]
Mancini takes blame with City on the brink October 24, 2012 AJAX 3 vs MANCHESTER CITY 1 MANCHESTER City manager Roberto Mancini last night insisted that the blame lies with him after another Champions League defeat took them to the brink of elimination from Europe’s elite competition. With one point from three games, City are at risk of an underwhelming group stage exit for the second [...]
Ferdinand brothers criticise FA and PFA but vow to back anti-racism campaign for football October 24, 2012 MANCHESTER United star Rio Ferdinand and his brother Anton, of QPR, last night criticised the Football Association and players’ union the PFA, but vowed to work with them to improve anti-racism efforts in English football. The Ferdinands are thought to be disillusioned by repercussions from the John Terry affair, which saw the Chelsea captain banned [...]
Villas-Boas urges Adebayor to be patient from the bench October 24, 2012 TOTTENHAM manager Andre Villas-Boas has told Emmanuel Adebayor that he remains part of his vision for the club despite his use of Jermain Defoe as the team’s starting striker. In Adebayor’s regular absence since Villas-Boas’s summer appointment, Defoe has impressed on an uncharacteristically consistent basis yet the Portuguese is insistent that he need only be [...]
Riders angry at Armstrong, says Wiggins October 24, 2012 TOUR de France champion Bradley Wiggins has joined fellow British cycling star Mark Cavendish in venting his frustration at the damage done to the sport by fallen great Lance Armstrong. Wiggins said he and his contemporaries shouldered an extra burden now that Armstrong has been stripped of his seven Tour titles and banned for life [...]