Sporting briefs...

Rallying: Citroen's Sebastien Loeb completed a comfortable victory in the Mexican Rally to put pressure on Ford's championship leader Marcus Gronholm who finished second behind the triple world champion yesterday. Loeb took a lead of one minute 0.8 seconds into the final day and relinquished very little as he finished 55.8 seconds ahead of his Finnish rival. It was the Frenchman's second consecutive victory in Mexico. Gronholm's team-mate and compatriot Mikko Hirvonen finished 31.9 seconds further behind to claim third place. The victory extended Loeb's overall points tally for the season to 28 after four races, closing the gap on Gronholm to four points and leapfrogging Hirvonen into second place.

Terry: Chelsea are hopeful captain John Terry can make his return from injury against Manchester City on Wednesday. Terry has missed Chelsea's last three games after suffering a head injury in the League Cup final win over Arsenal. The England international was hoping to make his comeback against Tottenham yesterday, but is now primed to play at the City of Manchester Stadium. "I'm waiting for John Terry. I'm waiting for Joe Cole," Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho told Sky Sports News. "I think John can play on Wednesday."

Charlton: Charlton have signed Denmark Under-21 winger Martin Christensen on a four-year deal for an initial £250,000. "He's a great prospect. We think highly of him," said Charlton manager Alan Pardew, whose club could pay an additional £100,000. The 19-year-old joins on a pre-contract basis from Herfolge Boldklub and Charlton have also agreed a three-year collaboration with the Danish side.

Gerrard: Juventus coach Didier Deschamps has expressed his admiration for Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, but claims the England international is too expensive for the Italian club. Should Juventus claim promotion back to the Serie A, Deschamps will want to strengthen his squad and Gerrard was thought to be a top target for the Turin club. But the French coach has ruled out a possible move for the dynamic midfielder. "Gerrard is a really good player, but he costs too much for us," he said.