Sporting briefs

Serie A: Lazio's Serie A game with Reggina will be played tomorrow rather than next Sunday to allow Rome's Stadio Olimpico to be prepared for the Champions League final. Serie A matches on the penultimate weekend of the season are supposed to be played at the same time so teams do not gain an advantage from knowing other scores. Despite Reggina being involved in a relegation battle, an exception has been made.

Ibrahimovic: Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is set to remain at Inter next season despite fuelling speculation about a move, club president Massimo Moratti said yesterday. "Yes, I really think so," Moratti said when asked if it was 90 per cent sure Ibrahimovic would stay.

Foster: Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster has been sidelined for at least nine weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a ruptured ligament in his thumb. It means he will not be involved in the Champions League final against Barcelona on May 27 or the last league game at Hull on Sunday.

Eduardo: Croatia coach Slaven Bilic has not included Arsenal striker Eduardo Da Silva in his 24-man squad for the World Cup Group Six qualifier against Ukraine in Zagreb on June 6. Bilic said he might still call up the forward if he recovers from a thigh injury.

Serie B: Grosseto vs Brescia 2-1.

Cricket: England beat West Indies by an innings and 82 runs after lunch on the final day of the second and final test at Chester-le-Street yesterday. England regain the Wisden trophy with a 2-0 series win. Scores: England 569-6 declared vs West Indies 310 and 176.

Horse racing: Hurdle racing will be allowed to continue in the Australian state of Victoria, a racing body said. Racing over jumps was suspended following the deaths of three horses from falls at the three-day Warrnambool racing carnival. Racing Victoria Limited chairman Michael Duffy said the board's decision was unanimous, but included several changes to the conditions of jumps racing. Duffy said changes were designed to make racing safer for horses.

Heineken Cup: Next year's rugby Heineken Cup final will be played at the Stade de France on the outskirts of Paris, organisers said. "We are delighted that the Paris 2010 Heineken Cup final will be played at the magnificent Stade de France," said European Rugby Cup chairman Jean-Pierre Lux. It will be the third Heineken Cup final in France after it was staged in Bordeaux in 1998 and at Paris's Parc des Princes in 2001.

Tennis: Maria Sharapova made a winning return to tennis after a nine-and-a-half-month injury lay-off yesterday, defeating Italy's Tathiana Garbin 6-1, 6-7, 6-3. The 22-year-old Russian has seen her world ranking slump from No.1 to No.126 during her absence from the sport, but she played with plenty of grit to secure her place in the second round of the claycourt Warsaw Open. Sharapova had been out of action since last summer due to a shoulder injury.

Rugby Union: England flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson has joined Toulon from the Newcastle Falcons, the French club said yesterday. Wilkinson, 29, drop-kicked the winning goal when England beat Australia 20-17 in the 2003 World Cup final. Wilkinson, 29, has been at Newcastle since 1997.