Football news

Genoa received some good news from the clinic yesterday when it was revealed that striker Luca Toni, who limped off during his team’s 1-0 victory away to Udinese last week, could be back in time for the team’s next outing in the Serie A.

Tests showed Toni’s thigh strain is not serious as Genoa were fearing the former Italy forward could be out for up to a month. However, the club released a statement noting it was only a slight thigh strain to the left leg.

Toni, however, will continue to train separately from the squad while undergoing treatment.

If Toni does not recover in time, Genoa will have to rely on the untested Mattia Destro against Chievo.

Walcott hails hat-trick hero Defoe

Theo Walcott was delighted to see Jermain Defoe steal his mantle of the last player to score a hat-trick for England, hailing his team-mate’s complete performance against Bulgaria.

Defoe plundered three of his country’s goals in Friday’s 4-0 win at Wembley. It was the first international hat-trick of the 27-year-old’s career, the first by an England player at the new Wembley, and the first treble since Walcott himself went goal-crazy in Croatia almost two years earlier.

“Three fantastic goals and a great fin­isher,” Walcott said of Defoe.

“Every time he touched the ball, something was going to happen. You just thought he’d create something and that’s what we want from our centre-forwards, to score goals and get people involved.”

Fortune: Baggies can avoid the drop

West Brom are in a much better position to avoid relegation than they were two years ago, according to the striker who has just re-signed for the club.

Marc-Antoine Fortune was on loan at the Baggies during their disappointing 2008/09 season in the top-flight, but returned to the club last Friday. He said that the team stood a better chance of avoiding relegation this time around.

“We know the mistakes we made,” he said. “We have new players now and we’re ready. It will be difficult but if we don’t give up we’ll be okay.”

Scholes changed his mind over return

Fabio Capello has claimed Paul Scholes performed a World Cup U-turn on the eve of his squad announcement. Scholes famously rejected a place in Capello’s 30-man provisional squad, pointing out he had not been given enough time to make his decision.

Given England’s performances in South Africa, it was a big decision that potentially had an impact on the Three Lions’ campaign as a whole.

Yet Capello has revealed the initial conversations between Scholes and Franco Baldini were positive, before the Manchester United veteran got in touch the following morning to confirm some bad news.

“Franco spoke with him in the evening and he said yes,” Capello said.

“In the morning he said no be­cause he preferred to stay at home.”

Arshavin... effective but not sparkling

Andrey Arshavin believes he has become “more effective” since joining Arsenal. The 29-year-old has been something of an enigma for the Gunners since his £15m arrival from Zenit St Petersburg during January 2009.

Capable of moments of sheer genius, Arshavin has also been a great source of frustration for Gunners fans as he often drifts in and out of matches.

“The year and a half in England has significantly changed me,” Arshavin said.

“I became calmer, more professional. As for football, I can say that my style has also altered... it is more effective, but less sparkling. I don’t remember when was the last time I scored a really beautiful goal.”

Man. City wanted Borriello – agent

Marco Borriello came close to signing for Manchester City last week, according to his agent. The Milan striker was loaned to Roma on the final day of the transfer window after turning down Juventus.

The 28-year-old was also strongly linked to Real Madrid and the Premier League side.

“It could have ended differently,” said Borriello’s agent Tiberio Cavalleri.

“On Monday, I had a call from (Manchester City coach Roberto) Mancini saying he wanted the player (Borriello) to go to Manchester City.

“On Tuesday, Real Madrid made an approach but then (Real’s Karim) Benzema said no to a move to Marseille and that’s when Roma came into the picture.”

McBride announces plan to retire

Former Fulham and US forward Brian McBride will retire at the end of the 2010 season. The 38-year-old has spent the last two years with the Chicago Fire after returning to his homeland following four years at Craven Cottage.

“Brian’s retirement is a bittersweet moment for the Fire. His talent and contributions to US soccer in particular are incredibly vast,” Fire owner Andrew Hauptman said.

McBride has represented his country in three World Cups, scoring 30 goals in 95 international appearances to rank third on the all-time scoring list behind Eric Wynalda (34) and Landon Donovan (45).

The former Wolfsburg, Preston, and Everton striker notched 40 goals in 153 appearances for Fulham, starting 111 games, and was handed the club’s captaincy in 2007.