Sporting briefs

Bendtner: Denmark forward Nicklas Bendtner has been ruled out of Arsenal's Champions League Group H clash with Olympiakos after a car crash on Sunday. The 21-year-old lost control of his £100,000 (158,800) Aston Martin close to Arsenal's training ground but escaped serious injury. Manager Arsene Wenger will also be without Brazilian midfielder Denilson who faces up to two months on the sidelines with a fracture in his back.

Demichelis: Argentina have called up Bayern Munich defender Martin Demichelis for their final World Cup qualifiers against Peru and Uruguay next month in place of the injured Fabricio Coloccini. The Argentine FA said that Coloccini had been ruled out after he was injured playing for Newcastle United on Saturday.

Liverpool: Javier Mascherano and Yossi Benayoun will miss Liverpool's Champions League clash against Fiorentina in Italy tonight. Argentina midfielder Mascherano, who came on as a late substitute in Saturday's 6-1 defeat of Hull, is suffering from sickness, while Israel playmaker Benayoun picked up a leg injury in the same match.

Sutton: Former Chelsea and Celtic striker Chris Sutton has been appointed manager of English League Two club Lincoln City. Sutton, 36, replaces Peter Jackson, who was sacked at the start of September, and will be assisted by former Blackburn team-mate Ian Pearce.

Chelsea: Chelsea midfielders Michael Ballack and John Mikel Obi have been left out of the squad for tomorrow's Champions League clash with APOEL Nicosia in Cyprus. Nigerian star Mikel is struggling with an ankle problem while Germany captain Ballack has a calf strain.

In Italy: Serie B - Ancona vs Modena 2-0; Reggina vs Piacenza 2-1. Prima Divisione (A) - Novara vs Alessandria 1-0.

Rugby Union: England captain Steve Borthwick has been cleared to play in the November international series after a scan on his damaged eye yesterday revealed only tissue damage. The Saracens lock had five stitches in the wound after being caught by a boot at the foot of a ruck in a Premiership game against Gloucester on Sunday and there were fears that he might have damaged his eye socket. Borthwick should therefore be fit to play in England's three Twickenham internationals against Australia, Argentina and New Zealand.

Athletics: Russian 400m hurdles world record holder Yulia Pechonkina is to retire after suffering recurrent health problems, the Russian Athletics Federation said. The 2005 world champion 'now aged 31' reportedly took the decision in August ahead of the Berlin world championships having battled chronic sinusitis and various allergies for the last three years. An attempt to return to the track this season foundered when she sustained a serious knee injury and elected not to compete in the worlds.

Tennis: Austria's postal services announced yesterday they will issue a stamp honouring Swiss ace Roger Federer as the world's best tennis player. The 65-centime stamp shows Federer winning the French Open last June. Some 400,000 stamps of the 28-year-old world number one, who has won an all-time record 15 Grand Slam titles, will go on sale next February.

Swimming: Former Australia swimmer Ian Thorpe has dropped his defamation case against the publishers of a French newspaper that reported he returned an irregular doping test in 2006. Thorpe's lawyer Tony O'Reilly said that his client was dropping the case because L'Equipe and a journalist had failed to show up in court. "In these circumstances, Ian has decided not to pursue the proceedings as he sees little point in obtaining a verdict in the absence of (the defendants)," O'Reilly said.