Briefs

Gattuso: Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso underwent successful knee surgery yesterday and is expected to be out for six months. The Italy World Cup winner, badly missed by Milan in Sunday's 4-2 Serie A defeat at Juventus, tore ligaments in the 1-0 win over Catania earlier this month.

Portsmouth: English Premier League club Portsmouth and a players' agent were both found guilty of breaking FA rules in connection with the transfer of Benjani Mwaruwari to and from the club, the FA said yesterday. Portsmouth were fined £15,000 with a further £15,000 fine suspended for two years following the investigation by an independent regulatory commission. Scotland-registered agent Willie McKay was given a suspended suspension of his overseas registration.

Cuellar out: Sporting Gijon goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar needs an operation on his right ankle and will be out for three to four months. Cuellar was injured in Sunday's 3-0 defeat at Athletic Bilbao when he clashed with Athletic player Carlos Gurpegi.

Leao: Former Brazil coach and goalkeeper Emerson Leao has been named coach of Atletico Mineiro and will return for a third stint at the Belo Horizonte club. Atletico said that Leao had agreed terms with president Alexandre Kalil to rejoin the club almost exactly one year after leaving.

Iniesta: Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta has almost completely recovered from a thigh injury that has kept him on the sidelines for six weeks and could play in the Primera Liga match at Villarreal on Sunday. The Spain international strained his right thigh muscle in the 1-1 draw against Champions League Group C rivals Basel last month.

Basket, NBA: The San Antonio Spurs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 109-104 on Sunday to win their sixth consecutive game and go to the top of the Southwest Division. Tim Duncan scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Spurs, who led by 26 in the second quarter before the Thunder outscored them 60-47 in the third and fourth. The defeat was the seventh in a row for the Thunder, who have the league's worst record (2-23).

Formula One: Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil will race for Force India again next season, the F1 team said. The pair had been confirmed for 2009 in October but a new technical deal between Force India and McLaren Mercedes led to speculation of a change with McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa testing for Force India last month. All has now been resolved and Vitantonio Liuzzi will also be retained as reserve driver.