Sporting briefs

Milan bust-up: Milan players Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Oguchi Onyewu were involved in a furious training-ground bust-up yesterday. The pair had to be separated by team-mates following a fight at the Milanello training complex. The incident was sparked by a hard challenge between Ibrahimovic and Onyewu.

Villa blow: Aston Villa boss Gerard Houllier suffered another blow yesterday when John Carew was ruled out with a calf injury. Houllier had planned to use Carew against Fulham as a replacement for Emile Heskey, who has been sidelined with ligament injury.

Sneijder: Wesley Sneijder says he never intends to play for Real Madrid again. The playmaker left Real a year ago and set about winning the treble at Inter. “Of course, Mourinho has tried to make me leave for Real. But it’s impossible. I don’t want to go back to a club that treated me in a bad way.”

Osman: Everton midfielder Leon Osman will be sidelined for a further six weeks after surgery on an ankle injury. Osman has been out since suffering the ankle knock during the Merseyside derby victory over Liverpool on October 17.

Malaga: Manuel Pellegrini has been named as the new coach of strugglers Malaga. The former Real Madrid and Villarreal manager takes over from Jesualdo Ferreira, who was sacked on Tuesday just a few months into a three-year contract due to a dismal start to the season.

No release: South Korea have dropped Monaco forward Park Chu-Young from their Asian Games football squad because the French team refused to release him. Clubs are not under obligation to release players for the Asian Games.

MFA Division Three: Xghajra Tornadoes vs Siggiewi 0-1; Fgura United vs Sirens 2-1.

Alpine Skiing: Italy’s Denise Karbon will miss the World Cup event at Levi, Finland on Nov. 13 because of a knee injury. Karbon hurt herself training with the national side. The 30-year-old, a double world medallist in the giant slalom, has been plagued by injuries during her career.

Athletics: Being trapped underground didn’t stop Chilean mining hero Edison Pena from running and a bad knee won’t stop him either when he tries to complete the New York Marathon tomorrow. “I never thought I would make it to this marathon,” Pena told a packed press conference in New York ahead of the big race. “I wanted to show that yes, you can.”

Equestrian: The International Equestrian Federation announced that Princess Haya Al Hussein, of Jordan, was re-elected president at its general assembly held in Taiwan. Princess Haya, who collected 90 of 124 votes, will be serving her second four-year term.

Basketball: New York Knicks hit 16-of-24 from beyond the arc en route to a 120-112 win over Chicago. Toney Douglas finished with a career-high 30 points, including five-of-nine three pointers for the Knicks who snap-ped a four-game losing skid.

Gymnastics: North Korean gymnast Hong Su Jong has been banned for two years for lying about her age. The FIG provisionally suspended Hong on October 6 after discovering she had registered for various events claiming to be three different ages.

Rugby League: Australian star Joel Monaghan was awaiting his fate yesterday after he admitted simulating a sex act with a dog in a drunken moment of “abject stupidity”, further sullying the sport’s image. The Canberra Raiders board will meet on Monday to discuss how to deal with Monaghan after a photo of the centre with a team-mate’s labrador was posted on a social networking site this week.