Sporting briefs

Campbell: Former England defender Sol Campbell took a step towards a remarkable return to Arsenal's first team when he played for their reserves against West Ham last night. "Talks are ongoing with Sol with a view to a permanent move back to Arsenal Football Club," the Premier League club said. Campbell, 35, who left Arsenal in 2006, has been training with his old club since ending a brief spell at League Two Notts County this season. Before that he spent three years at Portsmouth.

Higuain: Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain has damaged his left thigh muscle and will be out for approximately three weeks, the La Liga club said. The 22-year-old Argentina international is Real's joint top scorer alongside Cristiano Ronaldo with 13 goals in all competitions this season.

Essien: Bad weather in Britain delayed Michael Essien's departure for Angola and he will join his Ghana team there for the African Nations Cup today. "Essien was unable to make it out of London on Sunday. The bad weather prevented him from doing so as some flights were cancelled," a spokesman said.

Jones: Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has claimed Birmingham and Stoke could not afford to buy striker Kenwyne Jones who on his day is worth £40m. Bruce said: "Everybody's got their price, whether you're Gerrard or Ronaldo. But with no disrespect to Stoke or Birmingham, can they afford him? I very much doubt it. It's not just the fee but wages, all the rest of it. I just can't see it."

Everton: Everton have held "positive" talks with Liverpool City Council over plans for a new stadium. The two sides met this week following the government's decision last year to reject a planning application for a new stadium in nearby Kirkby. The £400m development for a 50,000-seater stadium, in partnership with Tesco, collapsed in November with Liverpool City Council one of the opponents to Destination Kirkby.

Rost: First-choice goalkeeper Frank Rost has signed a one-year extension to his contract with Hamburg, tying him to the Nordbank Arena for another season. The 36-year-old's deal was due to expire in the summer and Rost had hinted he may bring his career to an end rather than join another club.

Inamoto: Japanese midfielder Junichi Inamoto looks set to join his eighth club since 2001 with a move to J-League side Kawasaki Frontale from French First Division outfit Rennes. The 29-year-old has failed to make an impact at Rennes despite being reunited with Frederic Antonetti, who coached him at J-League club Gamba Osaka.

Snooker: Shaun Murphy could not hide his delight after dumping Stephen Hendry out of the Masters at Wembley. Murphy surrendered a presentable chance of wrapping up a 6-3 victory in the ninth frame and could have found himself facing a decider had he not potted a fortunate blue to seal a 6-4 triumph. The 27-year-old said: "Any match against Stephen is a major event so I'm delighted to win. It was a high standard match with big breaks."

Games: Singapore's sports minister confirmed the city-state wants to pull out of hosting the 2013 Southeast Asian Games because of delays in the construction of a new sports hub. Vivian Balakrishnan told parliament that Singapore had informed the SEA Games Federation it "would be ideal" to host the biennial event in 2015 when the facility is ready.

Baseball: Former St Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire has admitted using steroids during his Major League Baseball career, including 1998 when he broke the single-season home-run record. The 46-year-old, whose 70 home runs in 1998 shattered the record of 61 belted by Roger Maris for the New York Yankees in 1961, last played in 2001.

Ice hockey: New Jersey Devils's Jamie Langenbrunner was called on to provide leadership for a young squad when he was named captain of the US men's team for next month's Vancouver Olympics. Langenbrunner, who represented the US at the 1998 Nagano Games, will be one of three players with Winter Olympic experience on a squad with 20 rookies.

Golf: Australian golfer Greg Norman and wife of 18 months, former tennis champion Chris Evert, have reportedly made their split official with a secret divorce filed in an obscure Florida courthouse. The pair, who split last September, claimed in a court document that their brief 18-month marriage was "irretrievably broken".