Sporting briefs

Fletcher: Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher was yesterday ruled out of the club’s pre-season tour of the United States. The Scottish international is to remain in Manchester in order to work on his fitness ahead of the new Premier League campaign.

Ochoa: Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa has signed a three-year deal with Ajaccio in France. Ochoa has 45 caps and represented his country at the World Cups in 2006 and 2010.

Pay-per-view: Serie A clubs have reached an agreement on pay-per-view TV rights. The five big clubs – Milan, Inter, Juventus, Napoli and Roma – threatened to break away and refuse to do transfer business with the other Serie A sides. This year there will be €197m in TV income.

Higginbotham: Stoke defender Danny Higginbotham is hoping to be back in action by the end of September after making excellent progress from cruciate ligament surgery. Higginbotham missed the FA Cup final after suffering the injury against Chelsea in March. It was initially feared the 32-year-old would miss the remainder of 2011.

Boyd: Middlesbrough striker Kris Boyd has left the club to join Turkish side Eskisehirspor after his contract was cancelled by mutual consent. The 27-year-old Scotland international departed on a free transfer following a disappointing spell on Teesside.

Lazio: Marius Stankevicius is on the verge of signing for Lazio, club president Claudio Lotito said yesterday. The 30-year-old Lit-huanian can play on either side of midfield. He is still owned by Sampdoria, as Valencia opted not to take up their option to make his loan permanent.

Moreira: Swansea have reached an agreement to sign goalkeeper Jose Moreira from Benfica for an undisclosed fee, subject to a medical. The Premier League newboys have been searching for a new goalkeeper since Dorus de Vries chose to leave for Wolves on a free transfer last month.

Friendly: The United States will try to avenge a loss to Mexico in last month’s Gold Cup final when they host their border rivals in an August 10 friendly at Philadelphia. The Mexicans won their second consecutive Gold Cup crown two weeks ago by rallying for a 4-2 triumph over hosts US at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Mexico has won 32 matches, lost 15 and drawn 11 against the US in the all-time rivalry that began in 1934.

New chief: The Indonesian FA elected its new head yesterday, avoiding a FIFA ban and ending a protracted crisis over how to organise the game in the country. Djohar Arifin Husin, a former secretary-general of the National Sports Council, secured 61 of 99 votes in the second round of the election to get the chairman’s post for the 2011-2015 term.