Ireland captain Robbie Keane is on course to feature at Euro 2012 after scans revealed his hamstring injury is only minor.
A recent report in Ireland claimed the 31-year-old striker might not be able to train with Giovanni Trapattoni’s squad after suffering a hamstring problem.
But a scan has revealed there is no tear and it is hoped Los Angeles Galaxy’s Keane, who is his country’s record scorer with 53 goals, will join his team-mates before the squad heads off for a training camp in Italy next weekend.
Olsen calls up Lindegaard
Manchester United second choice goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard was called-up to the Denmark Euro 2012 squad by coach Morten Olsen.
The 28-year-old – who displaced David de Gea at times last season for United before suffering a serious ankle injury in February – will be third choice ‘keeper for the Danes.
Olsen, who is the only man to have played for and managed his national side over 100 times, said that it had only been a question of assessing whether Lindegaard was fit enough for the championship.
“We never doubted his qualities,” said Olsen.
Rooney fit for Euros – Hodgson
England striker Wayne Rooney is recovering from a minor injury but will be fully fit for his expected return during the group stages at Euro 2012, manager Roy Hodgson has revealed.
Rooney is suspended for England’s opening Group D games against France and Sweden but is likely to come back into Hodgson’s starting line-up for the final first round match against Ukraine.
“Wayne has been playing with a minor injury for the last three or four games which needed a couple of weeks to clear up,” said Hodgson.
“I offered him a couple more days’ rest but the fitness side doesn’t bother me. If he needs a bit of topping up we will do that. But his enthusiasm for the task was fantastic.”
Pato not joining Corinthians
Milan have turned down a request from Alexandre Pato to join Corinthians on loan as he continues to recover from muscular problems that had blighted his season.
“Milan will not negotiate for Pato on a loan deal or a perma-nent transfer,” Rossoneri chief Adriano Galliani said.
However, Pato’s agent, Gimar Veloz, was not so quick to close the door on the transfer.
He said: “Corinthians are a great team. We will wait to see how the situation evolves and let the player prepare for the Olympics in London, then we’ll decide what to do.”
Montella price-tag set at €2.5 million
Catania president Antonino Pulvirenti said that Roma will have to pay the Sicilian club €2.5m if they want coach Vincenzo Montella to join them this summer.
“Montella has repeatedly told me he has a weakness for Roma, but he knows well that he signed a contract,” Pulvirenti said.
“I received a phone call at the start of the week from Roma and I told them at this moment I am not taking into consideration the idea of giving away my coach.”
Pulvirenti added that he had set a €2.5m price-tag to release Montella from his contract a year early.
Evra slams Tevez
Patrice Evra has accused Carlos Tevez of lacking respect after he was pictured holding up a banner mocking Alex Ferguson.
Tevez has refused to apologise for brandishing a placard saying ‘RIP Fergie’ during last week’s parade to celebrate Manchester City’s Premier League title success.
The move has stunned Tevez’s old allies at his former club Manchester United, with Evra distinctly unimpressed by the Argentinian’s actions.
Evra said: “I was very surprised by Tevez’s attitude against Alex Ferguson. I’m not sure how the manager feels about it but I’m sure he won’t be impressed. It’s disrespectful. Tevez spent two years at this club and was treated extremely well by the manager.”
Cameron and Merkel watch final
David Cameron watched Chelsea’s dramatic penalty shoot-out triumph over Bayern Munich alongside German chancellor Angela Merkel.
The pair saw the final moments of the Champions League final played out on television together with other world leaders attending the G8 summit at Camp David.
As the drama approached its nail-biting climax, Barack Obama was said to have diplomatically positioned himself between them as “referee”.
The result provided a measure of revenge for the Prime Minister who was watching alongside Mrs Merkel when England were unceremoniously dumped out of the World Cup by Germany while the two leaders were attending a G20 summit in Toronto.