Sporting briefs

Maloney: Celtic have suffered a huge blow to their title chances after losing Shaun Maloney for up to four months. Manager Neil Lennon confirmed that the forward had undergone ankle surgery yesterday. Maloney suffered the injury in the early stages of Celtic’s 2-2 draw against Inverness on November 27.

Apology: FIFA president Sepp Blatter apologised for saying that gay fans should “refrain from sexual activity” if they go to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar and Blatter’s original comments provoked anger among gay rights groups who said he should apologise or resign. “I regret my comment, I didn’t want to hurt anyone,” Blatter said.

Ramos: Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has agreed to stay with the side until 2017 with a 1.5-million-euro annual pay rise. According to Marca, the 24-year-old player’s contract extension would take effect from the next 2011-2012 season. Real bought Ramos from Sevilla for €27 million in 2005.

Cabanas: Gunned-down footballer Salvador Cabanas has lodged a demand for compensation from his former Mexican club America with FIFA’s court of arbitration. The 29-year-old striker was shot in the head by a drug dealer on January 25 while on a night out with his wife. His initial request for compensation was rejected by the Mexican Football Federation on the grounds that the shooting did not occur during his work time.

Larsson: Birmingham manager Alex McLeish has quashed rumours that the club may sell midfielder Sebastian Larsson in January, rather than run the risk of losing him for nothing in the summer. “I wouldn’t consider it unless it was a ridiculous offer,” McLeish said. “I would certainly not contemplate it.”

Emirates Cup: Milan will return to Dubai for a winter training camp at the end of the month and will take on the local Al Ahli team in the inaugural Emirates Challenge Cup on January 2. Al Ahli face Milan with the added challenge of Fabio Cannavaro, the recently signed defender who led the Azzurri to victory at the 2006 World Cup.

MFA Div. Three: Luqa vs Sirens 0-0; Fgura vs Kalkara 4-1.

The Championship: Doncaster vs Middlesbrough 2-1.

Motor Racing: Toro Rosso have become the second F1 team to announce the launch of their new car ahead of the 2011 season. The marque, based in Faenza, Italy, are to unveil the STR6 on the first day of testing on February 1 at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia. Earlier this month Sauber were the first team to confirm their launch date of January 31 at the same venue.

Figure Skating: US ice queen Michelle Kwan misses competitive figure skating a lot but the five-time world champion says a return to the rink is unlikely. “I do miss it. I miss it so much,” Kwan said. Kwan had contemplated making a return for the Vancouver Olympics but she eventually decided that completing her graduate course was more important.

Rugby Union: All Blacks loose forward Kieran Read has been named New Zealand player of the year, beating New Zealand captain Richie McCaw to win the award. The 25-year-old, tipped as a future All Blacks captain, received the award at a function in Auckland on Thursday.

Boxing: WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal will put his title on the line against a ring legend today when he faces aging American Bernard Hopkins. “I’m going to bring my ‘A’ game and let’s see if the teacher can still teach,” Canadian Pascal said. Pascal, 28, was six years old when Hopkins made his pro debut in 1988, and the young champion is a heavy favourite against a challenger who will turn 46 next month.

Basket, NBA: Chinese star Yao Ming has a stress fracture in his left ankle that will further delay the resumption of the Houston Rockets centre’s injury-plagued career, his team said. The towering 2.26m player has been sidelined since November 10 with what the team had called a bone bruise in the same ankle.