Football news

Owen Hargreaves could have played his last game for Manchester United after Alex Ferguson revealed he almost certainly will not be fit before the end of the season.

Hargreaves managed only seconds on the field last term and lasted just five minutes of a surprise start against Wolves this year before pulling his hamstring.

Now the 30-year-old has sustained a shoulder injury which Ferguson does not believe he will recover from. Hargreaves’s contract is due to expire in the summer.

“It is a shoulder injury. It has just brought his season to an end. David Gill had a discussion with the boy last week. But no more than that. We have to make a decision,” Ferguson said.

Rangers face second UEFA charge

Rangers face playing two home European games behind closed doors after being hit with a second UEFA disciplinary charge for alleged sectarian chanting by their fans.

Rangers chief executive Martin Bain was “astounded” by the action after UEFA opened a case against the club over their Europa League second leg against PSV Eindhoven.

The Scottish champions already face action over the first leg in Holland and Bain claimed they appeared to be the victims of a “concerted campaign”.

Rangers disclosed they had been reported by the Football Against Racism in Europe organisation rather than the UEFA match dele-gate, who was from N. Ireland.

Szczesny in line for Gunners return

Wojciech Szczesny could yet return in goal for Arsenal against Liverpool tomorrow.

The young Pole has not played since he came off in the first half of the Gunners’ 3-1 defeat to Barcelona five weeks ago.

A knee injury to Manuel Almunia meant a recall for veteran Jens Lehmann in the club’s 3-1 win at Blackburn, but the 41-year-old’s renaissance with the gloves may prove to be short-lived.

Manager Arsene Wenger hopes that Szczesny and Johan Djourou, who had previously been expected to miss the remainder of the season, will be fit for the visit of Kenny Dalglish’s team.

Leyton Orient in bid to stop Hammers

Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn vowed to stop West Ham making the Olympic Stadium their new home.

The League One club are following in Tottenham’s footsteps in applying to the High Court for a judicial review to challenge the legality of Newham Council’s £40m loan to the company which will rent the stadium to the Hammers.

Hearn claimed: “I am the owner and chairman of Leyton Orient, which is 750 yards from the Olympic Park. I am beset with the potential of having football from a Premiership team moving to a 60,000 stadium with a huge subsidy for it.”

Turkey rule out Hiddink move

Turkey will look dimly upon any attempt by Chelsea to lure their manager Guus Hiddink back to Stamford Bridge.

Hiddink had a brief spell in charge of the Blues when he was also manager of Russia back in 2009.

That is not a situation the Turkish federation would be keen to replicate, though, with Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti linked with a move away from the club.

Turker Tozar, the national team communications manager, said: “Only last week we refused an approach for him from Ajax and the contract between him and our president does not allow him to work for a club while he is working for the Turkish national team.”

Lazio interested in Albania’s Cana

Albania midfielder Lorik Cana, 27, could be heading to the Italian Serie A this summer as Lazio are showing growing inter-est in his signature.

Reports in the media yesterday said Lazio boss Claudio Lotito has officially made a bid for Cana who currently plays for Turkey’s Galatasaray.

Talks have been ongoing and the news was confirmed by Lotito himself.

“I gave director Igli Tare the job of bringing the player to Rome,” Lotito told reporters.

“Cana can be a useful figure in our squad and reinforce the defence. He is physically strong and has bags of experience.”

Barcelona to sue radio station

Barcelona are set to sue Spanish radio station Cadena Cope for six million euros after it reported claims by a Real Madrid official that the Catalan football giants were involved in doping players.

Cope quoted an unidentified Real Madrid “representative” last month as saying the club had asked the Spanish football federation to take drug testing more seriously.

According to the radio station’s March 13 report, Real Madrid could not understand how doctors with “questionable reputations” could work for Barcelona.

The radio station apologised for questioning the club’s honesty without actually retracting the report.