Sporting briefs

Adriano: Brazilian striker Adriano has parted company with Roma by mutual consent after a disastrous seven months when he played just five games in the Serie A. “We found an agreement for an amicable early end to his contract, which was to have finished on June 30, 2013,” the club said in a statement.

Kaka: Real Madrid’s Kaka will be sidelined for around two weeks after he again injured his left knee the Spanish club said. The 28-year-old midfielder underwent surgery on his left knee on August 5 and only returned to training in December. He felt pain in his left knee during Real’s goalless draw against Deportivo on February 26.

Sakho: Paris SG’s French international defender Mamadou Sakho has extended his contact until 2014. The 21-year-old’s current deal was due to expire in 2012. The PSG vice-captain has played 24 league games this season and scored three goals.

Veh: Hamburg coach Armin Veh will leave the Bundesliga club at the end of the season. The 50-year-old has a contract until June 2012, but has said he will leave at the end of the season, by mutual consent, after a difficult few months in charge. Veh’s record of 11 wins, four draws and ten defeats from 25 games this season has failed to keep his team in the Bundesliga title race.

Viareggio: Inter beat Fiorentina 2-0 in the Viareggio tournament for youths to claim the prestigious title. Tournament top-scorer Simone Dell’Agnello struck early in the game before adding a second from the penalty spot in minute 70. It was the sixth Viareggio title for Inter.

Boyd: Middlesbrough’s Scottish striker Kris Boyd is to join Championship rivals Nottingham Forest on loan until the end of the season. The 27-year-old former Rangers player will move to the City ground, with goalkeeper Paul Smith travelling in the opposite direction.

Cricket: England bowler Stuart Broad has been ruled out of the World Cup due to a side strain. Broad, 24, will join team-mate Kevin Pietersen on the sidelines after picking up the injury during his four-wicket haul in England's win over South Africa on Sunday. Seamer Chris Tremlett is set to replace Broad, but the ECB will need to apply to the technical committee first.

Equestrian: The genteel world of New Zealand showjumping has been rocked after a leading horse was disfigured in an attack its owner believes was carried out by a competitor. The 13-year-old gelding Squirt suffered burns to its face after creosote was smeared around one of its eyes on Saturday night, when the animal was stabled at Hawera Showground ahead of a showjumping competition, owner Kathryn Corry said. Police said they were investigating but would not confirm reports in local media that a rival female showjumper was being questioned.

Baseball: US home run king Barry Bonds suffered a setback in court when a judge ruled that former league players will be able to testify in the famed slugger’s perjury trial. Bonds pleaded not guilty last week to four counts of perjury for denying to a grand jury in 2003 that he knowingly took performance-enhancing drugs and a charge of obstructing justice. His trial starts on March 21.

Cycling: The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) yesterday banned Italian cyclist Franco Pellizotti, third in the 2009 Tour of Italy, for two years, overturning an earlier ruling by Italy’s anti-doping committee. The CAS said in a statement that it had partially upheld an appeal by the UCI against the Italian decision on a doping charge. The CAS “has imposed a two-year ban on the athlete starting on 3 May 2010, as well as the disqualification of all his results obtained as from 7 May 2009,” it added, depriving Pellizotti of his 2009 Giro result.