Football news

England and Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard has been ruled out for three weeks with a torn hamstring, the Premier League club said yesterday.

"A scan today has confirmed a tear in the hamstring of Steven's left leg. He will be out of action for about three weeks," a spokesman said on the club's website.

Liverpool captain Gerrard limped out of his side's FA Cup fourth-round replay defeat by arch-rivals Everton after 16 minutes on Wednesday.

Gerrard will miss England's friendly against Spain on Tuesday.

Dalla Bona not going to West Ham

West Ham sporting director Gianluca Nani said the Premier League side are not interested in signing Samuele Dalla Bona.

The Italian midfielder, who spent four years at Chelsea before joining Milan in 2002, offered his services to West Ham having recently cut short his contract with Napoli.

"I'm sorry to disappoint Dalla Bona's dreams, but there is no chance he can play for us," Nani said.

"It's true that the player has asked to train with West Ham but we still have to give him a response. Technically he doesn't enter into our plans and anyway we can't even sign him until July."

Kelly's loan move to Stoke confirmed

Stoke City have signed Birmingham defender Stephen Kelly on loan until the end of the season.

The Potters agreed a deal for the 25-year-old right-back on Monday but the move was delayed as the Ireland international could not drive to the Britannia Stadium to sign a contract because of the snow.

Confirmation of the loan was only given after the Premier League had verified that all the necessary paperwork had been completed before the deadline.

Kelly could be in line for his Potters debut when they take on Sunderland at the Stadium of Light tomorrow.

Amoruso 'forced out' of Torino

Nicola Amoruso is still struggling to come to terms with his unexpected exit from Torino only six months after joining the club.

Amoruso completed a shock loan move to Siena last month but the 34-year-old told Italian media that he never asked to leave Torino.

"I did not want to go away," Amoruso said. "Rino Foschi (the Torino director of sport) says otherwise. It's ridiculous. I never asked to be sold, but at the same time I expected to be able to leave. I now only want to set the story straight.

"Torino sold me. Amoruso did not sell himself," the former Juve striker added.

Fletcher considered leaving United

Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher had considered leaving Old Trafford in the summer after making only 10 starts the previous season.

The 25-year-old met manager Sir Alex Ferguson with the intention to discuss a possible transfer but left having agreed to sign a new three-year deal - and has not looked back.

"It was a difficult summer," Fletcher told the Manchester Evening News.

"I only had a year left on my contract so I had a big decision to make.

The boss assured me I was needed and I was a vital asset and there were different qualities I could bring to the midfield.

"Of course there wasn't a guarantee that I would definitely play more matches. I just thought I'd give it another go. I believe I can do it and that is my attitude. It was a good decision."

Man. City want Sturridge to stay

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes has confirmed the club will start talks with Daniel Sturridge's advisors this week over agreeing a new contract.

Sturridge's current deal is due to expire at the end of the season and the likes of Chelsea and Aston Villa are believed to be interested in signing the 19-year-old striker.

Hughes is keen to keep Sturridge, though .

"We want Daniel to stay; that is a given," Hughes said.

Inter linked with Inler, Eboue

Inter are considering a summer move for Udinese midfielder Gokhan Inler as a replacement for the injury-prone Patrick Vieira.

The Swiss international was a revelation in his first season at Udinese last year and is continuing to impress despite his team's Serie A troubles.

Inter have also been linked with Arsenal defender Emmanuel Eboue.

An Ivory Coast international, Eboue has a Belgian passport making him an EU national. Therefore, if Inter were to acquire him, they would still have space to sign two non-EU nationals.