Sporting briefs

Bendtner: Out of favour Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner is determined to quit the Premier League giants in a bid to resurrect his career, his agent and father Thomas Bendtner said yesterday. “Nicklas needs to play if he is to develop and that means he needs to leave Arsenal. It doesn’t appear that his situation (as a substitute) is going to improve,” Thomas Bendtner said.

Zeman: Zdenek Zeman’s return to Foggia has ended in divorce with the Czech coach announcing yesterday that he is leaving the third division club. Foggia finished sixth in Pool B of the two-division third tier and missed out on the promotion play-offs by one place.

Zamora: Bobby Zamora’s end-of-season form for Fulham saw him recalled yesterday to the England squad for the Euro 2012 qualifier with Switzerland at Wembley on June 4. The 30-year-old scored four goals in his past 11 matches including one in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Sunday.

Montella: Caretaker Roma coach Vincenzo Montella believes he has a chance of landing the job on a full-time basis despite failing to steer the club into the Champions League. “A while ago I was told that I was in with a great chance (of staying) and nothing has changed,” Montella said yesterday. “I want to continue being a coach but we must see if there are the conditions for everyone that would allow me to do so at Roma.”

McLeish: Birmingham City have said that Alex McLeish will stay on as manager despite failing to prevent his side from being relegated from the Premier League. Birmingham’s acting chairman Peter Pannu told the club’s official website that McLeish’s job is “safe”. But the Scot has been told the board expect him to lead the team back to the top flight at the first attempt.

Serie B: Played yesterday – Siena vs Varese 5-0.

Cycling: Spanish cyclist Xavier Tondo was killed in an accident yesterday in which he was crushed between his car and a garage door at a ski resort in southern Spain. The rider, 32, was in his car about to leave the garage of an apartment building in the Sierra Nevada mountains yesterday morning to continue training for the Tour de France. For reasons that remain unclear, he got out of the vehicle and became trapped between his car and the automatic door of the garage, a police source in Granada said.

Gymnastics: The Federation of International Gymnastics (FIG) has chosen Glasgow to host the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastic Championships, bringing the event to Scotland for the first time. Glasgow beat off competition at a FIG executive committee in San Jose from Paris and Orlando to win the right to host the prestigious event. The championships will be held in the new 12,500-seat Scottish National Arena currently under construction at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre.

Golf: Ian Poulter is up to 14th in the world rankings following his 2 and 1 win over Luke Donald in the final of the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Spain on Sunday. Donald, who would have gone top for the first time had he won in place of Lee Westwood, stays in second just a fraction of a point behind his fellow Englishman. Tiger Woods, meanwhile, continued his tumble down the rankings from eighth to 12th, the first time he has been outside the world top 10 since the week before his stunning win in the 1997 Masters.

Athletics: Kenya’s 800 metres world record holder David Rudisha has ruled himself out of the Rome leg of the Diamond League due to a lack of race form, organisers said yesterday. Rudisha has been suffering from tendinitis in his left foot – an injury niggle which also ruled him out of the opening leg of the series in Doha on May 6. The Rome Diamond League, held on Thursday, is the third of 14 in the series.